"Jesus Christ, The Bread of Heaven"

John 6:24-35, 48-51

The right kind of bread can make all the difference in a sandwich. A Subway sandwich shop was in town at my last church in Fort Bragg, CA. It was one of the few places our family of four could agree upon together as a place to get lunch. I had a "go-to" sandwich back then- 6-inch sourdough turkey bacon, spinach, chipotle sauce with pepper jack cheese. The sourdough bread made that sandwich the perfect bite for me. The flavors all melded together in a grand symphony of taste! Not really- but it was a good sandwich.

When we moved to Oregon in 2017, we still had both kids living with us, and Subway was one of the first places we ate together in Ashland. As we began placing our orders, I looked at the bread selection. To my extreme disappointment, there was no sourdough bread available. Sourdough bread is only available at California Subways. My go-to sandwich didn't taste the same, and I admit, I rarely go to Subway anymore.

Jesus also believed that the right kind of bread could make all the difference. In fact, he had just fed some 5,000 families with bread and fish. The crowds who had been fed were so impressed by Jesus' bread that they wanted to make him their earthly ruler, not the Messiah. Just before today's passage in verse 15, Jesus knew they wanted to make him their Basilea, (Earthly King in Greek) to replace the puppet King of God's people, Herod Antipas. The support systems of the day were failing the people. There wasn't enough food to go around, and their leader had no interest in their needs.

Wanting nothing to do with an earthly throne, Jesus withdrew to a mountain, and the disciples went across the sea of Galilee on their way to Capernaum, where they encountered a storm. Just an aside- there are no coincidences with God. Although I have preached the feeding of thousands and the disciples getting caught in a storm over the last couple of weeks, all from Mark's gospel, I was unaware until I began researching this passage that those same two stories preceded this morning's tale. Thanks be to God!

By the following day, Jesus and the disciples had escaped, making it to Capernaum, some 10 miles away from the crowds. However, the crowd who had been fed that excellent bread and fish were determined. Someone must have seen the disciples heading towards Capernaum in their boat. So they traveled all morning and arrived there, eventually finding Jesus. They wanted more bread, the essential staple of every meal back then.

Jesus then began to teach them things about the kindom of God. He told them, "Do not labor for food that perishes." We all do that. I work in part to put food in my refrigerator and freezer. I confess I began worrying about all that food when the power went out on Wednesday, thanks to a rogue squirrel. My focus was on food that filled my stomach. Jesus was talking about a different kind of food that points to eternal life and fills your spirit. Jesus then referred to himself as the Son of Man. This title is first prophesied in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14), which speaks of the Messiah's humanity and divinity as the son of God. Jesus tells the crowds he, The Son of Man, will provide this new kind of bread.

Furthermore, God's seal has been set on Jesus. This is a seal of approval. God attests that something is true- in this instance, that Jesus is who he says he is and will do what he tells the crowds he will do. He will give them spiritual bread.

The crowds then go a different direction and ask about what works of God they must do. Jesus responds by telling them the main thing they need to do is believe in him, whom God has sent. Some theologians over the centuries have interpreted this phrase from Jesus, telling us all one has to do is believe in Jesus, not actually showing any results of that belief in one's daily actions. That is a misinterpretation, friends. Jesus wants belief in him to lead to a changed life in how we live and act. Faith in Jesus has changed me over the decades, and that faith is still at work in me until my earthly life is done. James, Jesus' half-brother, reminds us all, "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:17)

Then the crowds ask for a sign more majestic than the miracle of bread and fish, a sign more amazing than Moses feeding the people of God in the wilderness. Let's see what this "Son of Man" can really do!

Jesus corrects their understanding. God, not Moses, provided the miracle of manna in the wilderness. God gives the true bread from heaven, which gives life to the world. This bread has three ingredients, and life to the world is one of them. New life comes to the world around us as we follow Christ's teachings, loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Mark 12:28-31)

The crowds do not understand the bread's spiritual nature, but they like the idea of bread that doesn't go stale and ask Jesus always to provide that kind of bread. At this moment, they see Jesus as an everlasting breadmaker. Jesus knows that true bread from heaven is neither the manna God provided in the wilderness nor the bread the crowds received the previous day.

Then comes the big reveal. Jesus IS the bread they have been discussing. Ta Da! This statement equates himself with bread, a staple in everyday life. Jesus wanted the crowds to see him as a necessary part of their daily spiritual lives. He is still trying to get them to see beyond the everyday necessities to look to life's spiritual, eternal, thin spaces. In saying, "I am the bread of life," Jesus also claims his role as Messiah. This is the first of many "I am" statements in John's gospel. The phrase "I Am" is the covenant name of God revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The crowds then understood what Jesus was saying, for they knew what "I Am" really meant. Jesus' spiritual claim as the bread of life did not go over well with the crowd.

You'll note we skipped verses 36-47. In that section, Jesus tells the crowds that God is one, that those who come to him and believe will have eternal life, and that he will rise on the last day. The crowd responds by saying, "Isn't this Jesus from that backwater nearby town of Nazareth? How did he even do that miracle of feeding us?" I see a bit of a parallel in our peanut butter contest with Bethany Grants Pass Presbyterian church and Pastor Tom. How did he do the miracle of the multiplication of peanut butter? 13,745 ounces?!? Isn't he just Tom, the guy I went to seminary with a long time ago, the same Tom who had a mullet, an earring, and wore purple Converse all-star shoes? (And, Yes, he really did look like that back at SFTS)The crowds doubt Jesus is who he says.

That brings us to the second part of this morning's passage. Jesus reasserts his role in the cosmos. "I am the bread of life." He then explains the other remaining ingredients in this bread- eternal life and grace.

Eating this bread, meaning belief in Jesus, leads to eternal life. I absolutely loved Robb Grover's haiku in this month's Dialogue. He wrote, "Skip taught us Jesus. Then, only ten days later, Jesus talks with Skip." This critical ingredient in the bread of Christ is not just something we hold onto and will believe in and experience someday. It is a belief to live out here and now. 19th-century American novelist Charlotte Gillman wrote, "Eternity is not something that begins after you are dead. It is going on all the time. We are in it now."

Jesus then ends this section of his teaching to the crowd by telling them of the third ingredient of his bread—his flesh. Jesus became the bread of life to give his life for the world. Theologian Jurgen Moltmann wrote, "The symbol of the cross in the church points to the God who was crucified…between two thieves in the place of the skull, where the outcasts belong, outside the gates of the city. It does not invite thought but a change of mind. It is a symbol that therefore leads us out of the church and out of religious longing into the fellowship of the oppressed and abandoned."

So we give thanks for this eternal sustenance, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. It is a bread that teaches us, gives us hope in a life to come while we live each day, and points us towards never-ending grace and new life here and now.

That bread has changed me from the time I first experienced him. I saw a post on Facebook the other day that reminded me of the significance of Christ as bread in my life. Pastor and theologian Chris Kratzer wrote part of this. I've added a few things that have come into my life as I have experienced Jesus as the bread of heaven. The right kind of bread makes all the difference in my life and our world.

You taught me to love my neighbors, to model my life after yours.

To be kind and considerate and to stand up for the bullied.

You taught me to love people and consider others as more important than myself.

You taught me to sing, "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight."

We sang it together, pressing the volume pedal and leaning our hearts into the chorus. You said that You loved all the children of the world.

You taught me to love my enemies and do good to those who wish for bad things. You taught me to never "hate" anyone and always to find ways to encourage people.

You taught me it's better to give than receive, to be last instead of first.

To help the poor, the widow, and the stranger at the gate.

You taught me that you notice what I do for the least of these as the true depth of my faith.

You taught me to focus on my own sin and not to judge.

You taught me to be accepting.
 

You gave me hope when I stumble and see others as less than.

You gave me forgiveness so that I might live forgiving others.

You gave me hope in a life to come, where someday, you will also talk to me, and I will be reunited with those I love and miss. This living bread has taught me so much.

Friends in Christ, the right bread makes all the difference- in our lives and the world around us. God's desire to send Jesus Christ into the world wasn't for temporary sustenance but for ongoing life, the life God intends for us. Jesus Christ is the bread of life given to all who consume- who believe, remain with, and trust him even when he says challenging, scandalous things. This bread enables us to participate in the coming kindom. Thanks be to God and to Jesus Christ, The Bread of Life. Alleluia! Amen.