Good day dear friends. May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus, and He living in and around you, bring you peace, a peace of preparation for the joys and challenges of the day ahead; I pray this in Christ Jesus, amen.
Our text for today comes from the Gospel of John 6: 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." 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." (New Revised Standard Version)
John's Gospel is different from the other three. It is not considered one of the synoptic gospels because its message is different. I heard it called the "spiritual gospel" because of its emphasis on more spiritual matters and more on the Holy Spirit than the others. I, and others, believe that is why the Luke-Acts book was divided this way, to make John the in-between book, to help believers better understand the Holy Spirit before the Day of Pentecost as shared in Acts. John's story contains Jesus making making many "I am" claims and this is one of the most powerful. As I shared last week, there is a connection with scripture of His day, in that Jesus reminds the listener present with Him, of their heritage and belief in manna, the bread from Heaven provided during the Exodus. But this "bread" that Jesus offers is a sacrificial bread, in that Jesus offers His body as bread. Those listening immediately get angry as to someone offering their flesh as a meal and Jesus tries to explain it as a preparation for that which was to come, yet many still did not understand. To further cloud things, Jesus talks of eternal life, something everyone desired but did not understand how to do that and Jesus also speaks of His blood being a part of it and that He could "abide" in people and people should abide in Him.
Wow! Would you have believed that had you been present at that first delivery of that statement? Chances are that we would not. Given what we know now about Jesus and Who Jesus truly is in our faith, we say, "Yes, I would have believed." But had we been like those in the crowd seeking answers, seeking meaning and purpose, seeking to know more about the one, true God, we might now have been all that disposed to believe. Thanks be to God that we are where we are, knowing what we know, and trying to do what we do. We are the people who know the Answer to life's toughest questions, and the ones who know of the great meal that was, and is, offered to us very often. The question is, what are we doing about it? How are we helping those who are still seeking answers, and meaning and purpose for their lives. How are we offering this precious gift of forgiveness to those who are still trapped in the prisons of their sins? How are we offering the God of love to the ones who barely believe in a god of existence and sin? The best way is to live the message. If we live a life of love and hope, people will ask and we should answer that we are who we are, because of Jesus.
PRAYER: Loving God, may my life be the message needed to be heard by so many. May my actions and words betray the presence of the One who abides in me and in Whom I abide. May I help glorify Your name today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
