Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Each Spring we get the reading in our lectionary of Jesus saying "I am the bread of life!" Early in my ministry I would pack sermons with lots of points, and was rather shocked when the theme of bread appeared the following week, even though in a slightly different form. I would warn new curates or readers working with me not to put all their eggs in one basket, with this theme, and similarly with Jesus' words on sheep and shepherds.

Much of the Middle East, then and now, uses bread as a staple part of their diet, made and eaten on the same day. In the west we expect bread and other items to be available every day at our supermarket or local shop, and make loud howls of protest when a specific brand isn't there. But try imagining having no food at all for 24 hours and how hard we would find that. Now imagine how many days you could exist without any food. Hold thar thought in your mind and note that you are always only a few days away from death without food!

Jesus says he is as important to us as food is to our physical life. But he is referring to our spiritual life! Jesus is as essential to our spiritual life as food is to our physical life. It is he who has created our new life with God. May we learn to continually thank him.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we acknowledge our need
for the bread of life,
that keeps up alive spiritually.
When we get caught up in the
claims of the world
may we be reminded
that we are not just physical bodies,
but have spiritual lives
and we need feeding
to continue growing healthily.
Amen.