Devotional 8-25-18

Please read John 6:35 and 41-51. 

The scene for this scripture is the day after the miraculous feeding of the 5000 and after Jesus and, briefly, Peter, had walked on water. In spite of the fact the disciples had witnessed that miracle they are asking Jesus about the bread.

Jesus replies that “I am the bread of life.” What does Jesus mean by that bold claim. As I reflected on this, I learned some things about bread.

Bread is one of the one of the most basic foods in the world.  It has been an important part of human’s diet for thousands of years. In fact, scholars suggest that humans were baking bread at least 30,000 years ago.

The first breads were probably flatbreads like matzo, pita, naan and tortillas.  Leavening is what makes bread rise into a light and fluffy loaf. The first leavened bread was likely the result of an accident, probably from a neglected bowl of leftover porridge. Some passing yeast in the air made a home in it. When the yeast began eating the sugars present in grain, and produced bubbles that resulted in light, airy, dough.

I found something else interesting; the Arabic word for bread is the same as the word for life. And in English, while we have different words for bread and life, bread is so basic that the term “bread” is often used for food in general.

When we have a meal, we “break bread.”

In our culture, money is nearly as important as bread. What is a slang word for money? Bread!

Bread: our most basic human need. And Jesus said, "I am the bread of life."

Jesus' words, "I am the bread of life," fit into a larger story. Jesus had set a table on a hillside, where bread seemed scarce, and yet bread was abundant.

This miracle of abundance reminded the original audience and us of the manna in the wilderness, where the people were fed when they were wandering in the desert.

Jesus reminds his disciples that in the kingdom of God, bread is for everyone. In the kingdom of God, God is the source of abundance.

In God’s kingdom, there is bread for all.

In God’s kingdom, bread shall no longer be a tool of empire, a product of toil, the reminder of slavery and sin. Bread will be again as it was intended, the life of the world.

Another time, when Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray for our daily bread. In that same prayer, he teaches us to pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth, as it is in heaven.

As we live into God’s kingdom in this world, we need to do our part to see that all are fed. There’s more than enough to go around, yet some people don’t have bread. It’s not enough to give them pie in the sky. Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of God is both not yet, and already.

This is the wisdom of God, the miracle of Jesus: that all will be fed, and that that the struggles of a world based on scarcity are passing. The time of abundance is not yet, and already.

Rev. Jeff Taylor