Last Sunday, I presented who is the bread of life. There is only one bread of life than Jesus according to Apostle John. Today’s gospel is a clear vision of why Jesus has become the bread of life. This is not a self-appointed proclamation of himself; rather, it is a clear proclamation that God sent a real messenger to the poor people when Jesus said, “I am the living bread.”
What is the simplified meaning of the word living bread? The sequence of events started when he miraculously fed the five thousand. From such an event, the crowd was agonizing over why Jesus made a miracle by feeding the five thousand, which had not happened since the miracle of manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:1–36). In fact, the account in the Exodus event is parallel with the presentation of Jesus as the living bread because both narratives present that bread comes from heaven. In this concept, Jesus himself expressed that those who believe in him will have an eternal life.
In the Manna event, the bread symbolizes protection, care, and provision of God may overflow; however, Jesus’ presentation of himself is not overflowing, but it is everlasting. When Jesus said that my flesh is real food, it meant that he offered his body as a sacrifice for sin. This was instituted during the Last Supper with his disciples, when he said, “My body is broken for you.” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Admittedly, all of us are sinners, and we need a messiah to sacrifice for ourselves. Momentarily, we need our sacrificial lamb to weaken up many Filipinos to cross over the line and be able to keep up vigilant about what is really happening to the nation today.
Another thing that we need to remind ourselves of as sinners in this world is the need to recover from spiritual death and look for an eternal life. Johannine theology has a clear vision for it. Humans were designed by God to have harmonious relationships with nature, fellows, and God itself. We were created from dust to flesh, and then flesh to bread. By the way, in the ancient language, the word “bread” in Hebrews means “flesh” in Syriac and Arabic. It means that those words bread and flesh have been remarkably used for the transition from flesh to bread that Jesus used in this narrative. On the other hand, the transition is reversed from the concept of the Old Testament. It goes from bread to flesh.
Finally, the issue of eternal life was clearly presented by Jesus. He cited the fact that those who ate bread in the wilderness died. Jesus said that whoever feeds on this bread will live forever (verse 58b). Yes, it is true that no one survived; those who ate bread in the wilderness died physically and spiritually. They separated and committed sin against God. And the hope of the Hebrew people to have a messiah is nowhere to be found. Jesus himself visualized the coming of the Messiah on his behalf. He is the atoning sacrifice for the sinners of the world. And this is so hard to teach that his disciples as well as his followers are empty handed to sustain following Jesus (John 6:60–69).
In sum, Christian belief is hard to teach because of this notion. Eternal life is nowhere to be found. However, through faith in Jesus, we can find eternal life, both spiritually and physically. In practice, the Roman Catholic Church embedded the remembrance of Jesus as the provider of eternal life through gospel homily and eucharist. Meanwhile, Protestants and other Christian denominations are focusing on the gospel reading and its message. Other Christian groups elaborated on Jesus’ ministry fulfilled with harmonious relationships with the paraclete. All these practices are distinguishably correct. The significance of Jesus as the way to eternal life is presented to us by the fact that Jesus is the atoning sacrificial lamb of God to save us from the world of sin and darkness (John 1:29 and 1 John 2:2). In 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, the Apostle Paul reiterated to the Corinthians Christian community that Christ is risen from the dead; he is risen from the valley of death. Therefore, the culture of death is ruined, and the kingdom of heaven through Christ is coming.
Prayer
Move us to praise your gracious will, for in Christ Jesus you have saved us from the deeds of death and opened for us the hidden ways of your love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Vanderbilt Library, 2024)
References:
- Biblegateway.com (2024), https://www.biblegateway.com/resources
- Bible Study (2024), https://www.biblestudy.org/bible-study-by-topic/bread-in-the-bible.html
- Vanderbilt Library (2024) The Revise Common Lectionary, https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayer/
