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We live as hungry people in a hungry world.
Everyone is looking for something that will sustain
and nourish life, something that will feed and
energize, and something that will fill and satisfy.
Everyone is looking for “bread”. However, the
problem is not that we are hungry, but rather the
problem can be the kind of “bread” we eat.
Think about the varieties of "bread" being
eaten in our lives and in the world today. King
David is surely not the only one to have ever eaten
the "bread" of betrayal, adultery, or murder.
Republicans and Democrats share the "bread" of
negativity, hostility, and name-calling.
In so many conflicts between two ideologies,
both sides eat the "bread" that degrades the
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person or party. Just listen to the radio, TV or scan
the print media.
We eat the "bread" of hurt feelings and
resentment. Sometimes we eat the "bread" of
loneliness, fear, and isolation. There are times we
eat the "bread" of sorrow or guilt. Other times we
eat the "bread" of power and control. Sometimes
we eat the "bread" of revenge or one-upmanship.
We eat all kinds of "bread". The "bread" we eat
reveals something about the nature of our
appetites.
The world is full of "bread" and yet far too
many live hungry, empty, and searching. That says
something about our appetites and the "bread" we
have eaten. It is a sure sign that the "bread" we
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often eat cannot give real life. It is perishable
"bread" that nourishes only what is transitory. It
leaves us wanting only more of the same.
Not all bread sustains and grows life. Not all
bread is nutritious. If you want to know the
nutritional value of the "bread," you have to look
beyond the "bread". Where did it come from? What
are its ingredients?
That is what Jesus is teaching in todays
Gospel reading. The people have shown up hungry.
Just yesterday Jesus fed 5000 of them with five
loaves and two fish. Today they show up and their
first question is, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
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They do not marvel at yesterday’s miracle or
give thanks for God’s generosity, or even wonder
who this rabbi is. It sounds to me like they are
worried they might have missed the next meal, or
that Jesus started without them and they are too
late. They saw no sign, no miracle, in yesterday’s
feeding. They saw nothing more than fish and
bread. They either refused or were unable to see
beyond the fish and bread. They are interested
only in their own appetites and Jesus knows it.
“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me,
not because you saw signs, but because you ate
your fill of the loaves,” he says to them. The
people appear to be overly concerned to feed
themselves. However, Jesus is concerned for their
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lives. The people want to feed themselves with
"bread". Jesus wants to feed them with the Spirit.
“Do not work for the food that perishes,” he tells
them, “but for the food that endures for eternal
life.”
It appears the people had stopped listening to
what Jesus was saying to them. They are quick to
respond, “Well what must we do? How do we
perform these works of God to attain this
everlasting food?”
Do. Do. Do. Perform. Perform. Perform. Maybe
they are addicted to busyness too. They just don’t
get that Jesus is not talking about something they
do, but rather about something they that is given
to them.
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So Jesus gives it another shot, trying to be
clearer this time. “This is the work of God that we
believe in him whom he has sent.”
We are
tempted to turn “belief” into another work, another
thing to do. We think “belief” is something we
have to have enough of and cling to, when in fact
the word “belief” might be better translated as, “to
entrust.” And “to entrust” is to give over or let go
of something. This is the work of God – that we
entrust ourselves to the Spirit of Christ that has
been breathed into us.
This food is not of our making. It is the
“bread” that is broken and distributed for the life of
the entire world. Jesus is the bread that is broken,
given and yet never divides. His wisdom, love and
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guidance is the “bread” that is eaten and yet never
is exhausted. He is the bread that feeds our soul
and directs our lives.
If we abide by this, we can see ourselves and
one another as persons created in the image and
likeness of God rather than as full of obstacles or
issues to be overcome. We can see ourselves as
recipients of God’s generosity rather than
performers that need to be right. We are to trust
the silence of prayer rather than the words of
argument.
Think of the families in Charleston, South
Carolina, whose loved ones where gunned down.
Just one day after suffering one of the most tragic
and traumatic losses imaginable they are able to
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embody graciousness and forgiveness. They are
living examples of being sustained by God’s love.
We too can strive to choose love and forgiveness
rather than anger and retribution. We too can
listen for God’s voice rather than our own.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells the people.
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and
whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is
offering the people himself. He is the imperishable
"bread" that nourishes and sustains imperishable
life.
Finally, in every situation and each day of our
life we are constantly invited to choose the “bread”
that God wants to give, the “bread” that is
enduring—the “bread” that is offered to everyone.
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May we eat this “bread” always! And may we take
time to discern how to best nourish ourselves in
this world that is too often full of choices that take
us away from the spirit of God and the spirit of
Love. Amen.