Communion 4

John 6:48-51

If you are a parent you have likely encountered problems with getting your child to eat the proper foods. Many children, perhaps most children, would rather eat sweets and candies rather than healthy vegetables no matter how they are cooked and presented.

As adults we know what is best for our children. We know what foods will give them healthier, stronger bodies. But it isn’t always something the child will accept.

When addressing the crowds that followed him Jesus offered a comment on just who he was. What does Jesus say that he is? What is the difference between his bread and the manna the Jews ate in the wilderness? What is special about the “bread” of Christ?

This was a difficult message for people to hear and understand. First, Jesus claimed that he was living bread. He told them that they should eat his flesh (verse 51) and that would provide eternal life.

Additionally, he made a comment about the miracle that the Jews had experienced during the Exodus, a miracle revered by the faithful. He pointed out that even though these people had eaten a gift from God they were still mortal and did eventually die.

The confusion came when people took Jesus literally. During the institution of Communion at the Last Supper Jesus explained that the bread the disciples would eat was his flesh. What he meant was that, like the bread, his body would be broken. Like the bread, the presence of Jesus would give eternal life.

We cannot take these words too literally. We must learn to understand that we must take part in the presence, grace and teaching of Jesus to gain everlasting life. By taking part in Jesus, the way we might take part in a daily meal, we are given a new life, a new way of living and loving and being children of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you take part in the flesh of Christ?

Communion 3

John 6:48-51

If you are a parent you have likely encountered problems with getting your child to eat the proper foods. Many children, perhaps most children, would rather eat sweets and candies rather than healthy vegetables no matter how they are cooked and presented.

As adults we know what is best for our children. We know what foods will give them healthier, stronger bodies. But it isn’t always something the child will accept.

When addressing the crowds that followed him Jesus offered a comment on just who he was. What does Jesus say that he is? What is the difference between his bread and the manna the Jews ate in the wilderness? What is special about the “bread” of Christ?

This was a difficult message for people to hear and understand. First, Jesus claimed that he was living bread. He told them that they should eat his flesh (verse 51) and that would provide eternal life.

Additionally, he made a comment about the miracle that the Jews had experienced during the Exodus, a miracle revered by the faithful. He pointed out that even though these people had eaten a gift from God they were still mortal and did eventually die.

The confusion came when people took Jesus literally. During the institution of Communion at the Last Supper Jesus explained that the bread the disciples would eat was his flesh. What he meant was that, like the bread, his body would be broken. Like the bread, the presence of Jesus would give eternal life.

We cannot take these words too literally. We must learn to understand that we must take part in the presence, grace and teaching of Jesus to gain everlasting life. By taking part in Jesus, the way we might take part in a daily meal, we are given a new life, a new way of living and loving and being children of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you take part in the flesh of Christ?

Communion 3

John 6:48-51

We are very excited by the fact that a Panera Bread has opened near our home. For Mother’s Day we even bought a loaf of fresh, country style bread and sliced it up as part of our brunch after church. It didn’t last long.

As much as we enjoy this bread, there is a better bread that is offered to nourish each one of us spiritually. What is Jesus? What does he remind the Jews about? What type of bread is Jesus?

Obviously, Jesus is speaking metaphorically. He is not truly made of wheat or rye. He is not literally a piece of bread.

Instead, this comparison is a foretaste of what he will do during the Last Supper with his disciples. He is comparing himself with bread.

Why bread? I believe it is because bread is such a mainstay in almost every diet of almost every culture throughout the world. It is one of the basic foods that we as people eat. It is a basic food that keeps us going.

But Jesus points out that even the Jews with Moses in the desert were given a type of bread – manna – something special from God to keep them going. Yet even this special gift from God was not enough to keep the people alive forever.

Only Jesus is the bread of life. Only Christ is that basic component for us, something that gives us strength and nourishment, not for our bodies, but for our souls.

If we can feed on Jesus – that is, if we can follow his teachings and imitate his life, if we can make him a basic part of who we are and how we live and love – then we can find that everlasting sustenance from God.

Jesus points out that his flesh, his physical body, was like bread. It was meant as something real and tangible that was broken for us. His flesh was broken as a sacrifice for us so that we may have eternal life. But to achieve this holiness, this sanctification, we must feed on Christ, symbolically, taking him into us and making him a part of us on a daily basis.

The bread of life, Jesus himself, is a gift from the abundant table of the Lord.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you feed on Jesus every day?