August 11, 2024 at Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Naples, FL
First Kings 19: 4-8 + Psalm 34 + Ephesians 4: 30 – 5: 2 + John 6: 41-51
From the very first verses of John’s Gospel we get the point, the theme, the purpose that flows like a river through the whole of his Gospel. It is the Incarnation, that coming down of the Son of God to give us a share in God’s life. That is what John proclaims over and over again with different signs and stories. It is all about abundant and eternal life. How do we get that? From the Son of God who comes down from heaven.
To understand the message of this sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, it is absolutely necessary to know how people ate at the time Jesus was among us. It was quite different from how we eat with forks and spoons to get the food to our mouth. For us, bread may be served, but it is like a side dish or a dinner roll. Folks on a diet often do without it. For Jesus and the people of his time, there were no utensils. They ate with their hands, and bread was used to bring the food from the dish to the mouth. It was dipped or was used like a scoop. We can catch on to that from the description of the last supper when Jesus speaks about the one who will dip into the bowl with him. Bread was not an extra. It was how someone accessed the food that was put in front of them. No bread, no food. Bread was how they got they main course.
It is easy for us to get confused about the “main course” these days. Everything about our culture would suggest that the “main course” of life is power, comfort, and wealth. These things seduce us into thinking that the main course is defined by those material things. That is not what Jesus has taught us. Over and over he teaches us that the main course is a life of abundance for all eternity. Remember the sign that started this sixth chapter – the feeding of thousands with a lot left over. It is a sign of abundance, and the people did not have to do a thing to get it. They just had to be there and listen to him. My friends, we receive life because we are here to listen again, and that life is, so to speak, the main course. We receive that life from the bread. The bread is Jesus Christ. That is how we get to the main course. In his conversation with those people gathered around, he reminded them that the bread their ancestors ate was temporary. They died. It did not give them life. Jesus comes with something better. “I am the Bread of Life” he says to them. “Whoever eats this bread will life forever.” This eternal life, abundant life, is offered to each of us who believe. It all comes to us through the Incarnation – through the One who came down like the bread which came down from heaven. The bread of Jesus Christ brings us to that abundant and eternal life, and that is all we need. It’s time to enjoy the feast.