We know that “bread” has many meanings. It is what we eat each day to nourish our bodies. We also need “bread” for our minds, and “bread” for our souls. About a hundred years ago people began to refer to money as bread, and so the “bread winner” was the person who brought home money for the family. What about our spirits? What kind of “bread” do they need? Since our spirits endure beyond the grave, it is critical that we make spiritual “bread” a priority in our lives.
Jesus talked about spiritual bread. A crowd approached him and asked him for a sign so that they might “see and believe” (John 6:30-35). They asked,
“What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
One of the ways God showed his love for Israel was by providing them their daily bread in the form of “manna” which seemed to be bread that fell from heaven. They challenged Jesus to give them some “magic bread” like the kind their ancestors had in the desert. Then they would believe.
Jesus complied with their request.
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, Amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father 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.”
Jesus noted that it was not Moses who gave them a sign from heaven, but God. So it was not Jesus’ role to give them a sign from heaven but his Father’s. And the Father was letting “manna” fall again right in front of their eyes. Jesus was the bread not the Giver. The old manna fed their bodies; the new manna would feed their spirits. We remember that “manna” did not look like bread; so too, the new manna would not necessarily look like breakfast food. Jesus was the true bread that their spirits hungered for, even more than their bodies craved food.
Though they didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, their appetites were whetted.
“So they said to Jesus, ‘Sir give us this bread always.’’
Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
If, somehow, Jesus could get inside them as true bread they would never hunger or thirst again. Imagine a food that had such power to satisfy. As Jesus spoke these words, the Holy Spirit emanated from him and began to “feed” the people with God’s presence.
Even his disciples did not understand Jesus’ message. One day, however, they would gather in his name to “break bread” together and feast on kingdom food—the bread sent from heaven—the risen Body of Jesus Christ. And, then, they would realize that the food of the Eucharist was what really satisfied them.
The special sign that the crowd asked for that day, is “performed” for us each and every day in thousands of churches across the world. God rains down the Holy Spirit “like dewfall” and transforms ordinary bread into the true bread from heaven. Out of love for us, he provides us food in abundance.
Let us never ceased to be awed by this miracle. Let our goal be to go to God’s table every day and feast on the Bread of Life.
“…whoever comes to me will not hunger” (John 6:35).
