We Welcome All People Here. Learn More >
Follow Us!
John 6:35
August 2, 2024 by Rebecca Littlejohn
DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
John 6:35 – 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.” (NRSV)
This Sunday, we will be reading the entire 6th chapter of the gospel of John in worship, and then we’re going to spend the rest of the month unpacking it. There’s a lot going on in this one chapter! But this verse might be the heart of it all. It’s worth spending some time thinking about what these words mean to you.
One of the most powerful things about Jesus’ teachings is how he used such tangible, earthly things – like bread or seeds growing – to help us grasp deeply spiritual ideas. In these days of low-carb diets and gluten sensitivities, bread may not seem as universal as it used to be, but it’s still a powerful symbol. It is the most basic but human of foods; not something that grows on trees that any animal could eat, but something we make in partnership with the gifts the earth provides.
Bread represents the basic sustenance for life, the fuel that makes keeping going possible. So when Jesus says he is the bread of life, he’s telling us how fundamental our need for him is. But it’s not our bodies that need such nourishment; this meal is for our souls. Sometimes we don’t realize that our souls are hungry. Just as we may get cranky or frustrated and finally remember it’s been way too long since we ate, we may feel restless or alienated or any other of a host of unpleasant things before we come to understand it’s that our souls are hungry.
There is a reason Jesus keeps using these bodily metaphors to explain our spirits to us. He wants us to understand it from the inside out, just as he did when he was on earth in bodily form. We may not be able to explain what receiving the Bread of Life means to us in words, but we can feel that blessing deep in our gut and know how deep our need for it is. So come join us in worship this August, as we explore some of what Jesus says and does with bread. Your soul just might be restored!