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THE TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Bread of Life

John 6:35, 41-51

 At the end of II Samuel, there is a story told about King David.  It is told after his death, although it is actually from his young adulthood.  David is no longer a boy, but he has not yet ascended the throne.  He has proven himself on the field of battle by single-handedly defeating Goliath, but he has also proven himself a threat to King Saul.  He is driven away from the king’s court into the wilderness.  He spends most of his time fighting the Philistines, the arch-rivals of Israel . 

At the time of the story, David is holed up in the cave of Adullam , while the Philistine army is encamped at Bethlehem , David’s boyhood home.  He has around him a cadre of thirty elite fighting men, all loyal to him.  Of these thirty, there is an even smaller, tighter, braver group, simply called, “The Three.” 

David is sitting with the Three.  They are talking as men do.  Perhaps out of frustration or out of longing or simply out of camaraderie, David says to them, “I would give anything for a drink of Bethlehem water right now.”

I can imagine the Three looking at each other, even without David knowing it.  They look at each other and, without speaking, a plan is hatched, such is their love for David. 

The Three slip out of the cave.  They infiltrate the Philistine camp.  They draw water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem and bring it to David.

But David does not drink it, such is his love for them. He says, “How can I possibly drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?”  And David pours it out onto the ground as an offering to God.

It is not literally blood, of course.  It is water.  And yet it was much more than water.  This water from Bethlehem had become what the Three had risked to obtain it, what they paid for it.  It was very much their blood. 

Now it is contrary to the law of Moses to drink animal blood and it is abhorrent to drink human blood.  David knows this.  But it was also abhorrent to him to take personal advantage of the bravery of his men, to benefit in so small a way from the great risk they took.  Since drinking that water would have been equivalent to drinking their blood, he shouldn’t – he couldn’t – he wouldn’t do it.

When Jesus offers his flesh to eat and blood to drink, he is not flaunting his disobedience of the old law, as stated in Leviticus.  He is not encouraging us to become cannibals.  No, he is doing David one better.  He is freely offering his own blood at the risk of his life, so that others might benefit.  He will lose his life and his comrades – you and me and all who believe – will benefit.

Jesus is the bread of life who has come down from heaven – nourishment from God that never runs out.  Bread that comes from the earth eventually runs out.  But Jesus has come down from heaven.  Jesus is God and, because he is God, the food that is his flesh will not run out.  In fact, it will continue to multiply like the bread in the miracle.

And this is also true of the fish.  After everyone has eaten and Jesus tells the disciples to gather up the leftover bread, they gather 12 baskets full – symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel .  No mention is made of the fish – that is, until John 21. 

After Jesus’ death and resurrection and after his appearances, the disciples return to fishing.  They catch nothing.  But just after daybreak a stranger appears on the beach with some fishing advice.  “Cast the net on the other side and then you will catch some fish.”  They catch so many fish that one boat cannot hold them all.  We are told later that it is 153, representative of the entire world.

Jesus is the bread of life -- nourishment from God that never runs out..

Jesus is the bread of life – connection with God that never fails.  Jesus comes from God and he will return to God.  But because he is the Word made flesh, as we eat, he becomes part of us.  When we eat bread that has come from the earth we receive life for that day and the next.  When we eat the bread of life that has come from God, we receive eternal life.

            Yet this life does not remove us from this world.  This flesh and blood world is the world into which this flesh and blood Jesus came.  It is this Jesus who wept at the grave of his friend, Lazarus.  It is this Jesus who, on the cross, said he was thirsty.  It is this Jesus who, when he was stabbed by a spear, bled real blood and water at the cross.  He is the flesh and blood Jesus who has brought God to us in a new way, that, in this life, in this world, we might know God’s new life now.

My regular spiritual practice is meditation.  Each day I sit in silence for an extended period.  I’ve been doing it for a number of years.  In fact, I recently attended a retreat where we alternated 45 minute periods of sitting meditation with 45 minute periods of walking meditation, over and over, for nine days.

So, I am accustomed to sitting quietly and observing whatever comes up, being mindful of my thoughts and feelings and sensations. 

What I am not so accustomed to doing is eating meditation.  I usually eat like the Simpsons.  I shovel into my mouth whatever is in front of me.  I do it without thinking.  And I quickly forget about what I have eaten.

What I am trying to do is to put on the brakes.  Once in a while, I take more time with my eating and drinking.  I begin by noticing the shape and color of each food.  I smell the aroma arising from the plate.  I feel the texture as I put it in my mouth.  I also recall where the food has come from.  I see if I can taste the soil, the air, and the sun in the fruit and vegetables and potatoes.  If I am eating meat, I imagine the cow out in the field, the chicken pecking at the ground, or the salmon swimming in the water.  And I imagine all of this being taken into my body – the sun and the soil and the air and the animals – becoming part of me.

It’s not just my imagination, of course.  That is what actually happens.  We are what we eat in a very concrete way. 

So, when we come to this table and we eat this bit of bread and drink this sip of wine that is the body and blood of Jesus, what are we eating and drinking?  What are we taking into our bodies?

We can certainly imagine that we are eating and drinking the forgiveness of God, the grace and truth of Jesus, the rebirth of the Holy Spirit.  We can remember Jesus’ forgiveness of the prostitute and his healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus and we can take that into our hearts.  But we also take it into our bodies and we carry it with us, because it becomes part of who we are.  It becomes a part of us and part of our every day lives in this world.

It is a wonder that such small thing – the bit of bread – can hold so great a reality.  Yet it is this reality – the bread of life – that we take into our bodies.  It is this reality – the bread of life – that we carry in our hearts.  And it is this reality – the bread of life – that connects us with God. 

Because this bread of life is the Word made flesh.  It is Jesus.