May 20, 2010

John 6:45-71
I love fresh bread. When Laura bakes rolls or fresh bread, the aroma begins to float through the house. I begin to salivate. It makes me soooooo hungry. Hot out of the oven with some butter placed in it, the butter melts almost instantly, and as soon as it is cool enough to put in my mouth, it is gone. One problem, as I have grown older, is that I seem to have developed a little intolerance of bread. If I eat more than one or two rolls or slices, I get terrible heartburn. But it tastes so good! I don't know how many evenings through which I have suffered because I just couldn't eat just one roll.
Our Lord says, "I am the Bread of Life." No He does not mean He is a loaf of bread. We take the Word literally, unless there is clear reason in the context to understand it as a figure of speech. This is a figure of speech called a metaphor. He is comparing Himself to something physical. Bread was the common staple in their diet. Meat for the common person was not necessarily an everyday part of the meal. Fresh fruit could only be eaten in season. Dried fruit, such as figs and raisins, would be available to some. But bread was something that most everybody could afford anytime of the year. It was necessary to the preservation of life. It was like rice in oriental culture or beans or corn in other cultures. Without it, life was unsustainable.
Without Him, life is unsustainable. Is He suggesting cannibalism here? That is certainly how the crowd took it. Now that is disgusting! Talk about heartburn! Their hearts burned so badly that they all got up and left. Is that what He meant? Almost! Without Him our lives are unsustainable. Our need for Him in order to live is so great that it is as if we have to ingest Him in order to survive. It is a metaphor folks but a very strong one. He came from heaven as the bread of life, so that He could die our death. If we ingest Him, our death is taken care of because He already died it. He came from heaven as the bread of life so that He could be raised to newness of life! If we ingest Him, our resurrection is taken care of because He is already risen! He came from heaven as the bread of life so that He could ascend into glory! If we ingest Him, our glory is taken care of because He is ascended into glory!
Now, I appreciate metaphors but making the jump from the metaphors to literal life is hard to do. While in college, I once was sharing the Gospel with a man. I asked him if he had ever received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. He said, "Oh certainly." To which I replied, "Tell me about it. I'd like to hear." His quick honest response, which was consistent with his Catholic theology, was, "Oh, I receive Jesus every time I go to Mass and receive communion."
Now that was a new wrinkle in my protestant mindset. It was the first time I was ever forced to think through the implications of the doctrine of transubstantiation. For those of you who are not Catholic, transubstantiation teaches that when the priest pronounces the blessing upon the communion elements, they in substance become the body and blood of Jesus, though not in appearance. This doctrine came to its present form at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which was held in response to Luther and other protestant groups. Certainly, if that doctrine is true, then every time one receives communion, one is receiving Christ and literally eating the body and blood of our Lord.
Obviously, since I am not a Catholic, I reject the doctrine of transubstantiation. But I also recognize that there is something more than just metaphor going on here. What is it that Jesus is communicating? Clearly that Jesus calls us to share in Him. He calls us to share in His life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. We do it by submitting ourselves to Him, recognizing our utter poverty without Him, flinging open the door to our lives for His Lordship and His power rather than depending upon our own sovereignty and power.
Such an encounter begins when we are born again, but it renewed moment by moment. Once He first enters our lives, He never leaves us nor forsakes us, but we still need His life flow moment by moment. The fresh bread I ate when I was 8 years old is no longer fresh today. The fresh bread I enjoyed last week is no longer fresh today. I received Jesus when I was 8 years old, but that experience on that day will not suffice for today. I spoke with Jesus a week ago, but that conversation will not suffice for today. I need Him now. Let's eat some Bread!
Why would I yield my sovereignty and power to Him? Because without Him, I will die. I might linger for 40-80 days without food. But know full well; I will die. Most Christians are content to snack on Jesus, maybe once a week at church or every once in a while in the Bible. They don't even realize they are spiritually malnourished. They are close to death. Yet all the while they could be feasting on His magnificent glory. Sometimes when we do, we get spiritual heartburn. It might be a warm glow such as the disciples on the road to Emmaus experienced. Or, it might be discomfort because the presence of His glory reveals some sin with which we need to deal, but that is part of it. Enjoying His glory demands that we yield. Let's eat some Bread! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John