Morning Prayer: Shannon Cook Hymn of Presence *Come Down, O Love Divine* Witness of Scripture: John 6: 35, 41-51 Anthem *Arioso* J.S. Bach. Rob Bradshaw, cello & John Riester, piano Sermon *Heavenly Bread... Earthly Good* David Spain
Recorded on August 11, 2024
It is probably impossible for us to fully appreciate the shock waves Jesus created when he said, “I am the bread of life.” Our familiarity with the image of Jesus as the bread of life, and the intervening 2000 years have all but rubbed smooth the sharp edges of Jesus’ remarkable claim. It would help our hearing of this story if we could be a little bit stunned by what Jesus said, because what Jesus says is life-shaping if not life-changing.
Perhaps we could access the controversy Jesus’ statement stirred if we recall other “I am” statements. “I am the greatest,” said a famous boxer. “I am the only one who can do this,” is a claim sometimes made by someone running for office or the CEO in the front office. “I am Legend” was a 2007 movie starring Will Smith. If you want to stir controversy in the sports world, begin a discussion of who is the greatest quarterback or basketball player of all time—
the G.O.A.T.Most ‘I am” statements like these tend to be very self-serving, egoistic, and frankly quite hard to take; and yet, we are inclined toward such admiration. Julian DeShazier calls this the ‘great man theory,’ an idea that goes back to Plato but was popularized by the 19th century philosopher Thomas Carlyle who wrote “The history of the world is but the biography of great men…the Founding Fathers and Albert Einsteins and Martin Luther Kings among us who broke through the ice of mediocrity.” (The Christian Century, August 2024, p. 31) DeShazier notes that Christianity is certainly rooted in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and when Jesus makes his “I am” statements as John tells us, attention certainly focuses on Jesus. And yet, Jesus did not in fact seek personal adulation—for even in John’s gospel which emphasizes more than the other gospels the acclamation of Jesus as the Christ—Jesus says, “anyone who believes in me believes not in me, but in the One who sent me.” (John 12: 44) In the gospel of Mark, when someone addresses Jesus as “Good Teacher,” his first response is “Why do you call me good… no one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10: 18)And when John, who has been imprisoned, sends a group to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah, Jesus does not bring attention to himself but says that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Matthew 11: 5) Even in the revealing exchange when Peter proclaims Jesus as the Christ which Jesus acknowledges, the very next verse becomes a rebuke because Peter’s idea of Messiah is not who Jesus is. It is difficult in our ‘American Idol’ culture to resist turning Jesus into a ‘rock star;’ and yet Jesus does not want to be idolized, which would violate the second commandment. Instead, Jesus wants to be embodied, taken in, given out. It is an altogether different “I am” statement.
So, when John’s gospel tells us Jesus says “I am the bread of life,” although his claim was not ego-centered nor about personal greatness to draw adoring crowds or intimidate enemies—as
most of the time Jesus told his disciples not to say anything about his works of wonders because Jesus wanted dedicated disciples not adoring fans—his words still raised some eyebrows and set some teeth on edge. That is understandable, and John tells us there were those who took exception to what Jesus said—“the Jews” he wrote which horrifically in the intervening years has given rise to all manner of hatred directed at our Jewish relatives.The complaint, as John phrases it, was rooted in the question of authority. “Now, wait a minute…isn’t he Joseph and Mary’s boy who worked in the carpenter shop with his father? How can he say such a thing now?” Well, that’s not a bad question. I can’t count how many times I heard my father say something like, “Who does that guy think he is?” There is not a single person who has ever lived since the time of John’s gospel who doesn’t ask some form of that question—“Who is Jesus, and more importantly, how does Jesus give shape to who we are?” Faith necessarily asks this kind of question.
John’s gospel loves the deep dive of imagery and metaphor—this is the first of several “I am” statements that are unique to John’s gospel. “I am bread…I am light…I am door…I am Good Shepherd…I am Resurrection and Life…I am way, truth, life…I am vine.” The stunning images remind us Jesus is more than anyone can ever fully comprehend—which is always good to keep in mind as it helps us stay humble and wondering and open. Jesus gives us so many evocative and powerful images of who he is...not because Jesus wants to be idolized but because he wants the world to know of God’s presence in the world. ‘I am here to bring Good News to the world,’ says Jesus—'that God is light not darkness; that God is door not wall; that God is Good Shepherd not fierce enemy; that God is Resurrection and Life not death and destruction; that God’s way is truth that brings life not deception that diminishes life; that God is a bountiful vine and we are all branches on that vine.’ This litany of Good News begins when Jesus says he is the bread of life —the kind of loaf that feeds unlike any other meal.
Heidi Neumark remembers a talk by Brazilian theologian Rubem Alves entitled “El Evangelio No Es Un Postre!” which translates, ‘the gospel is not a dessert!’Neumark observes, “Who doesn’t love dessert? Most of us do, and quite a few put Jesus in the dessert category, but not because of an abundance of love for him. There are many problems with thinking about the gospel as dessert. We don’t need dessert, but it can be a nice extra—if we have room for it after everything else we’ve consumed. Then there are desserts saved for special occasions—hardly daily bread…The gospel is not a dessert. ‘I am the bread of life,’ says Jesus.” (The Christian Century, August 2024, p. 35 & 36) Jesus is not a dessert, not a pie-in-the-sky sweet by and by Savior. Instead, he is a staple, which has been defined as a leading principle or a chief item of trade. Jesus is bread, which is to say the ordinary, wholesome, simple, basic, completely essential staff of life.” (Will Willimon, Pulpit Resource, Jul – Sept 2024, p. 19)
When Jesus said, “I am the bread of life come down from heaven,” those who had heard the stories told in the temple or the synagogue would have remembered. ‘Wait a minute, when Jesus said that, he reminded us of something so important about God. Remember when Moses was out tending to the flock and that bush was set ablaze and he heard God’s voice? When Moses wanted to know who was calling, the Voice said, “It is I am” and that Voice told Moses to tell Pharaoh that holding people captive and oppressed is not God’s way in the world. And then remember when our ancestors were running from Pharaoh, out in the wilderness and all but starving and ready to trade in their newfound freedom for old way captivity, there was that morning when they woke up and the ground was covered with manna…enough for the day, not enough to hoard or hide, but enough for the day for everyone!’ Jesus is saying he is continuing what God has always done, which is to look out for those who fall under Pharaoh’s heavy burdens; or to the crowds now listening to Jesus, Rome’s imperialist ways. When Jesus says he is bread of life come down from heaven, he is saying God still cares, God still frees, God still nourishes.
We know, because John’s gospel tells us, that Jesus says he is more than daily bread.Yes, he cares deeply about daily bread.Jesus does not glorify hunger. As Will Willimon wrote, “When faced with a hungry multitude, Jesus doesn’t say to them, ‘I am here for mostly spiritual matters.I am present to enable you to rise above your bodily needs. Try not to think about your hunger and focus on heavenly, spiritual things.’” (Ibid, p. 19)Religion which focuses only on heaven and dismisses the earth is not the faith of Jesus. And yet, Jesus also says that having a full belly is not the end goal of life. When he speaks of being bread from heaven, he is talking about more than the blue-plate special at the local diner. Jesus is interested in more than a single meal; he cares about a banquet called life for all.
Oddly, or perhaps not, when Jesus moves away from slices of bread to bread of life, many in
the crowd lose interest, drift away, complain about him. It is a poignant and powerful moment in the story because it takes us back to the question of who Jesus is. Do people want Jesus only for what they can get out of him—their wants satisfied, their desires met, their perspectives confirmed? Or are people willing to take in Jesus so that he gives shape to who we are, so that as the old saying goes “we are what we eat.” Are we interested in this “eternal bread,” which in John’s gospel, is never meant to be understood solely as life after death but also includes life in the here and now as we take in this heavenly bread which is also meant for earthly good. “Who does this guy think he is?” How we answer that question gives shape to how we live our days.
A long time ago in Waco, Texas there was a bread bakery. On certain mornings, my mother took my father to Baylor where he taught, driving down Franklin Avenue toward the university, passing by the bakery where there was the most delightful aroma that wafted over the neighborhood. After dropping off my father, I would plead with my mother to drive back home the same way just so we could catch another whiff of that heavenly aroma of fresh bread.It is still with me all these years later. Today, we have passed by John’s gospel, who leaves us with the taste of heavenly bread that stays with us all these years later. It is the kind of bread that leaves the scent of grace and forgiveness; it is the kind of bread that kneads the world with justice and mercy; it is the kind of bread that gives rise to kindness and generosity; it is the kind of bread that warms the world with compassion and community; it is the kind of bread that flavors the world with joy and wonder; it is the kind of bread that ingrains the world with hospitality and reconciliation; it is the kind of bread that feeds the future and nourishes the present. It is heavenly bread for earthly good, and thanks be to God, Jesus invites everyone to the feast. It is all here, so come and be fed, because we are what we eat, and there is always a place set for you.