11 Aug SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2024
Jesus said to [the crowd,] “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” This does not refer to the physical sensation of hunger never being experienced by someone who comes to Jesus, but that whoever comes to Jesus will have their “spiritual longing, that is, [their desire] to know God, satisfied,” ESV, p 2035.
The idea that no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by the Father who sent him is very Lutheran. Lutherans believe that there is nothing a person can do on their own to come to Christ. We must be given grace by God which draws us. It’s not an emotional decision made by an individual in a moment of ego submission.
While it does involve being convicted by the Holy Spirit during a moment of surrender, coming to Jesus is not the result of a typical altar call. Being drawn by the Father amounts to being overwhelmed by divine grace. Perhaps at that time, a person “goes forward and accepts Jesus Christ,” but salvation cannot be willed or faked.
…salvation cannot be willed or faked.
Coming to Jesus is not a one-time event we can take credit for, as if we willingly participated in a personal moment of submission. Coming to Jesus is on par with baptism; it is the work of God that succeeds because of God’s provision and God’s doing.
To be “drawn by the Father” includes these provisions. Number One: “All are taught by God.” God (at least) attempts to teach everyone. But clearly, not everyone hears and learns from the Father since not everyone comes to Christ. Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” So that makes me wonder whether belief is the hinge point, the point at which faith either does or does not take root.
Consider this. The Jews were taught by God to expect a Messiah, one who would be anointed by God to lead them. But when Jesus said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” The Jews began to complain and were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus answered, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” Yikes. They shall all be taught, but not all will hear and learn so that they come to Christ.
What prevents a person from hearing and learning? I can think of several things. For one: That a person isn’t listening to begin with. I don’t know about you, but listening is hard work. It takes concerted effort and attention. It takes energy devoted to the task. Listening is not passive, it’s an intense activity that involves two parties. When done correctly it’s an exchange of equal measure, an exercise of intense participation.
It seems as though whether a person’s able to see the Father or not has to do with whether or not that person believes in the connecting link, the one who came from God because he was sent by God who has in fact, seen the Father. Jesus says, “ Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.”
What is it we must believe?
But what is it we must believe? That Jesus is the bread of life. That the bread of life is unlike any other provision known. The bread of life is not a fat or water-soluble vitamin with a recommended daily requirement or dosage. It is a one-time, forever available source of life that makes eternal life possible. We will not die in the sense of death without hope.
Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, and died. This bread that comes down from heaven, is given to us so that one may eat of it and not die. Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that he gives for the life of the world is his flesh.”
No wonder Christianity was seen as a cannibalistic cult. What Jesus suggests is totally weird. How can any normal person become sold on the idea of bread becoming flesh? Let’s look at this concept symbolically. Think about this. Some type of grain is the basis or main staple of nearly every diet.
Forms of wheat, rice, corn or oats are ingredients of most foods. They’re the building blocks of a whole host of edible products. They take up large portions of our plates and even create entire meals. Such is bread in Jesus’ time. In Jesus’ time bread and fish proved to be a nutritious meal for over five thousand.
People can grow and have their lives sustained, even saved from death by a few crusts of bread. I once took care of a ninety-year old gentleman who as a young man found himself a downed American pilot in the mountains of Italy. His injuries were treated by a German doctor before he was transported as a prisoner of war.
There he ate crusts of bread and wine provided by nuns who slipped him a bit extra because he was Catholic. His abdomen was still convoluted and misshapen from starvation decades later, but he had survived on bread. He, like Jesus, could identify with what might be called the bread of life. He, like Jesus, understood that what he gave for the life of the world was his flesh.
As a symbol bread is earthy; it’s mixed in earthen bowls, kneaded by hand, and baked in brick ovens. It has a certain feel and texture, aroma and appeal. But in Greek culture, anything earthly was base, in fact, anything common or material were the furthest things from heavenly.
This is exactly why Jesus equated himself with bread, to prove that all of creation could prove sacred. Because that’s what God as our creator chooses to do.
To demonstrate that those who are hungry will be satisfied by coming to Jesus. That belief in Jesus is the most important ingredient for life. That no other food will substitute for the one a person needs to survive.
Jesus advises those within earshot how what he offers is different from manna or a crust of bread in prison, bread that merely helps you survive to see another day. The bread that comes down from heaven is given so that one may eat of it and not die.
One of my jobs at the elderly man’s home was to give his ninety year old wife a shower. Donned in a frilly shower cap, I had seen her naked plenty of times. Not so with the elderly gentleman. He was self conscious about the appearance of his abdomen since returning home from war. He had kept his body hidden.
But one night he couldn’t get his pajamas on by himself and asked for my help. As he sat as upright as he could on the side of the bed, I helped put what I learned had been the once broken arm set by the German doctor into its sleeve, then the other. I proceeded to button every button down the front of him until he was ready to lie down and rest. Not long after that day, he joined his Lord and Savior in heaven.
This man had been forever grateful to the German doctor who did such a fine job setting his broken bones, and he was also forever grateful to the nuns at the prison, and to the German military commander who confided with him that he had attended college in America, and who gave this man the honor of telling his fellow prisoners that their day of release had come.
The day of release had come when Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that he gives for the life of the world is his flesh.” As many selfless individuals have also done as human beings, Jesus does as God himself: He proves that the purpose of life is to give yourself for the sake of another. Let us pray.
Jesus, nothing satisfies as you do and nothing will ever take your place. You set what is broken so that it heals. You give us what we need exactly when we need it. Thank you, Father, for drawing us toward you with grace, for rescuing us when down, for freeing us from the prison of sin and death. In faith, we accept what you offer and believe what you say:That you are the bread of life who came down from heaven and sacrificed his own flesh to grant us life eternal. In your holy name we pray, Amen.