Good day dear friends. It has been a long time and I trust everyone is well. Again, my thanks for your continued prayers.
Our text for today comes from John 6: 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They 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'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44 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. 45It 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. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." (NRSV)
John captures the essence of Jesus in ways that most people can relate to. John shares more "I am" statements from Jesus than the other three gospels. Here, Jesus says that He is the bread of life. Most people understood the importance and centrality of bread to their diets. Others understood and related to the importance of bread in their history, more especially the manna of the Exodus. And here Jesus says that He is the bread of life and shares how this bread is a satisfying bread that will not allow hunger after having eaten it. Yet, it is a bold claim and one that not everyone would understand nor accept. The Jews were angered by this claim. Those who knew Jesus and His family were upset by the heavenly claim when they knew who His parents were. "How can Jesus say he's from heaven when we know he's from here?" Not everyone on the ground floor of an idea will understand nor accept the coming bigger picture. In this case, what Jesus is sharing, we, centuries later, completely understand that Jesus' whole life and ministry would be seen as a needed sacrifice for our eternal good. Those on the ground floor with Jesus did not. The issue of finding and having daily bread was still a challenge, and it's hard to think on spiritual things when your stomach is growling with hunger. Please know I am not defending them nor making less of their need for Jesus; some were not yet in a position to understand nor accept all of the things that Jesus came to share.
Yesterday in the church where we worshipped we had Holy Communion. The words of this sacrament remind us of all that God did for us through Jesus. "Do this in remembrance of me," we hear over and over, and yet, we sometimes forget that because of love, God remembered us and we should remember God in all things and in all ways, every single day. God has always provided for us and will continue to do so. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by abundance we take it for granted. May we never forget that during our time of need, God was right there offering us Jesus and when we said yes to Him, we were never the same.
PRAYER: O Provider of Heavenly Bread, provide for me right now. Fill me and use me. Thank You, for Jesus and all that Jesus has shared with me. May I seek to share Jesus with others this day and all days; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
