Bread of Life

The Lord’s Table, 2014, FPCE.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  –John 6:49-50

Many of you ask how our granddaughter Nora is doing. Early each week, she receives a chemotherapy infusion, after which she experiences side effects, then slowly recovers to look like a normal toddler, until the cycle starts again. Three weeks completed, 64 weeks to go.

When we were told that our Nora would need chemotherapy, we had no idea how many adjustments would be required. Chemotherapy affects the immune system, so a normal daycare setting is not allowed. Parents and adult caregivers must exercise special care to avoid passing germs to the baby, and wear disposable gloves while cleaning the baby so that the chemotherapy drugs are not passed to them. Food safety precautions are heightened because even a little mold or bacteria can lead to food poisoning. St. Jude Hospital distributes educational materials contrasting which foods are allowed, and which are prohibited. The right choices can keep Nora at home between infusions rather than hospitalized.

This new knowledge is layered on top of what my wife Therese and I have previously learned regarding gluten-free food preparation.  Therese isn’t the only one in our congregation with Celiac disease. Other auto-immune diseases are represented among us. That’s why our deacons are careful with communion bread preparation  so that we may safely include as many people as possible. Choosing the right bread makes all the difference.

In today’s lectionary selection from the sixth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus makes a similar observation.  Jesus is speaking to a crowd that has been following him for some time.  At first they were attracted by Jesus’ ministry of healing the sick. Their attraction grew to amazement when Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes, and fed about 5,000 people.

But Jesus seems disappointed in their reaction, and escapes across the Sea of Galilee.  When the crowd catches up to him the next day, he says that many of them are following him for the wrong reasons:  “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  Jesus believes that the crowd is less interested in a messiah, and more interested in a baker.

Jesus teaches a lesson that lies underneath the miraculous feeding. Referring to the events recorded in our first scripture reading, Jesus draws a distinction between manna and the true bread from heaven. He says, “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that comes down from heaven.  Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” 

In his own unique way, Jesus says that not all breads are the same. Bread is a symbol.  Some breads – things we select to nourish us –  contribute to life and health more than others.  Choosing the bread that nourishes makes all the difference.

In our everyday lives, what do our choices say about our sources of nourishment? Are they healthy or unhealthy choices?  Sometimes, it may seem simple to tell the difference. Most of us realize that choosing a life of purpose, supported by a loving community, is “whole grain,” and more satisfying than the white bread of the latest gadget, app, or fashion trend.  But what do we do when we face a choice between seemingly good options, and it is difficult to spot the “bread” that is most healthy? Making the best choice isn’t always so easy.

Paul Stroble is a semi-retired seminary professor in St. Louis, who has thought about this question as it relates to life in a church.  He offers a description of the difference between Jesus as the Living Bread and manna, which is temporary and fleeting. “Manna,” he says, “is the preaching style of a certain pastor whom you love, but what do you do when a new pastor comes along with a different style?  Manna is the program ministry of the congregation, or the church’s music, wonderful and beneficial but sometimes a source of disagreement. Manna is the small group to which you are attached, but people move away and the group magic disappears. Manna is the congregation that you love, that you’d rather would never change.”[1]In contrast, the Bread of Life is the nourishment behind and underneath all manna.  It has more permanency.  The Bread of Life is the grace of Christ feeding us through all the changing circumstances and stages of our lives.

I’ve shared stories from my former preaching professor Tom Long, one of them, you may recall, about a Jewish rabbi who, as a young boy, was fortunate to be liberated from a Nazi prison camp.  In the camp, the prisoners were given just barely enough food to survive – some grain, a bit of stale bread, and a few grams of lard each week.  Despite the harsh environment, the Jews in the boy’s section of the camp continued to observe the Sabbath. Somehow they managed to scrounge up a piece of candle and a little food each week, and would say the Sabbath prayers, and pronounce the Sabbath blessings.

One week, there was no candle.  So when the evening came and the Sabbath was at hand, the boy’s father took some of their precious lard and molded it around a bit of string.  Lighting this makeshift candle, he began to lead the small group in the prayers and blessings.  As the boy watched the candle burn, he grew angry.  When the prayers were done, he confronted his father.  “How could you do that? How could you waste what little lard we have to make a candle?  It’s the only food we have.” His father answered, “Son, without food we can live for several days. Without hope, we cannot live an hour.”[2]

In my limited experience, this is true. When you’re in a hospital, watching over someone you love, the food in the cafeteria may not seem appealing. You may not be hungry, you may skip a meal and feel little difference. But without hope that things will get better in this life – or at least in the life to come – without that hope, it is difficult to make it through the next hour. It’s then that you know you need Living Bread.

Some things that feed us are here today, gone tomorrow. Church staff members change, small groups change, music changes, programs change, even buildings change.  Jesus says that he is the living bread who nourishes us for the journey of life. “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.”

NOTES

[1] Paul Stroble, “Living by the Word,” The Christian Century, 8 August 2006, p. 17.

[2] Thomas G. Long, “Bread That Perishes, Bread That Endures,” Pulpit Resource, 6 Aug. 2000, p. 25.

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