The Bread of Life, Week 2

In this 5 week series, we focus on Jesus who says to us, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35)

In last week's lectionary reading, Jesus fed 5000 men.  If we consider there must have been women and children there as well we are talking closer to 10000 people, give or take.  He fed them all till they were satisfied and had 12 baskets left over ... all with the generous gift of five loaves and two fish from a young boy.   When I shared this story with the children in our worship service last Sunday, one little boy about 6 years old exclaimed, "wow, that is amazing!"    That's what the people with full bellies thought that day ... suddenly they began calling Jesus a prophet and wanted to make him a King!    But the time had not yet come.  Jesus disappeared because truly he is more than a prophet and more than a king on this earth.  Jesus is the Bread of Life!  For more on last week's passage, take this link: The Bread of Life, Week 1.

I invite you to spend a few moments to prepare your heart to receive the Word of God as you prayerfully consider the Scripture passage for today.   Breathe deeply and envision Jesus, the bread of life, listening to you, challenging you yet loving you right where you are and desiring to "feed" your soul.  Settle into a sense of abundance within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in … Bread of Life (pause)        Breathe out ... feed my soul (pause)

          Breathe in ... Bread of Life (pause)         Breathe out ... fill my cup (pause)

          Breathe in ... Bread of Life (pause)         Breathe out ... make me whole (pause)

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ...  Pray: Jesus, you are the bread of my life.  Help me look past the things in my life that get in my way so that I see the "signs" in my life that point to God in Christ as the source of deep satisfaction in my soul.  Let me always know you are present with me and let me rest in you.  Amen … Amen … Amen

Step 1: Lectio … Reading    Read John 6:24-35 silently to yourself twice, slowly and reverently.  Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.  Gently focus on that word or phrase.  Repeat it several times and allow it to be sifted through your heart and mind all the way to your soul.

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.   When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’   Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving

Continue to focus on your word or phrase.    Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.  What images emerge in your imagination?    What memories come to your mind?

Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word.    Watch for God's Presence ...

Listen for a fresh word as your understanding deepens. 

Step 3: Oratio … Responding

Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer.   Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.   Do not rush ... wait and watch and listen for God in Christ.  Allow your prayers to flow from the depths of your soul ... Let God form your prayers!

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting

Allow yourself to sit in the silence.  Allow your mind to settle into the silence.  Simply rest until you can rest no more.  When you feel the time to move on ...

Pray … Bread of Life, feed my soul. fill my cup, and make me whole … Amen

 

  © Cindy Serio 2012

Cindy’s Sermonic Meditation … 


This morning we find ourselves at basically the same place as last week.   The crowd of people is looking for Jesus again.  And yet in many ways, they are in a very different place.  They have not only “seen” Jesus cure illness and heal lives they themselves had “experienced” the loaves and the fish filling them until they were no longer hungry.   Now … they want more!    And I understand that.   It doesn’t take long for that gnawing pit of desire to begin rumbling … 

more!  more!  more! 

Last week, I posed a question for us to ponder, I asked, “How is Jesus the Bread of your Life?”   

As I read and studied and prayed, I took this question with me.   I found that pondering this question is not as easy as I thought it would be.   At some point I began to think the question was too simplistic and then I thought maybe I simply asked it too soon.    Today, I think it’s a question that invites us to truly contemplate the nature of God!

As I walked with the crowds of people following Jesus … wanting more!  more!  more!  

I heard these words become louder and louder … “you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”   Last week I told you and I’ll remind you this morning that In John's Gospel, the word “sign” is a literary device used in the text to point to the identity of Jesus.  So what did I hear Jesus saying when I listened underneath the translated word? 

You aren’t looking for me because you know who I am.

You are looking for me for what I can do for you.

Ouch!  Really?   

Ahhh … once again we grapple with the human condition.   

How often are our prayers long on requests and short on praise?  

How often are our prayers long on talking and short on listening?

How often are our prayers long on bargaining and short on surrender?

How often do we measure God’s presence and God’s favor with a yardstick called      

        circumstances?   

How often do we ask “where is God” when the bottom falls out?

How often are our circumstances an obstacle to belief?   

As I was pondering all of these questions this week, I came across a reflection by Retired Bishop Woodie White in The United Methodist Reporter.  It was called “When it Becomes Difficult to Believe in God.”   He tells a story about a young man who came to him to say, “I no longer believe in God.”   Because of the circumstances of his life and the evil that he had suffered at the hands of other human beings, this young man doubted the presence of a Supreme Being who had his interests at heart and if there was one, Bread of Life or not, he wanted no part of a God who would allow such things to happen.    I believe that as Bishop White listened to this young man’s story … he was gathering up the fragments of brokenness and he was holding them in the presence of the Risen Christ, the One who calls himself The Bread of Life … all the while hoping and praying and trusting that: 

Perhaps … one day the young man might find God again.  

Perhaps … one day, the young man will hear Jesus say deep in his soul … 

“I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and

whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

And he will respond with all of God's People who say: Amen!

Sermon preached at Ashford UMC on Sunday, August 5, 2012