Living in the Spirit

August 8, 2021

Scripture Reading:
John 6:35, 41-51
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.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

When I hear the word flesh, I think of skin. The Greek word, sarx*, translated flesh above, has a much broader meaning, the physical body. Thus, when Jesus says, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ He is foreshadowing his bodily death on the cross. This whole scripture is a discourse on things spiritual and carnal. He is talking to first-century people who probably are more comfortable with separating the two than perhaps our generation is. Their minds went immediately to the story in the Hebrew Bible about God providing the manna from heaven for the Israelites who found themselves in the desert with no food after fleeing Egypt. When Jesus states that he is the bread that came down from heaven, he essentially says that he is the people’s savior. That was a significant threat to the religious leaders of that time, but words of hope to the people hearing it.

Hope seems in short supply as we grimace that the Delta variant is causing COVID to spread more rapidly. People tend to respond to such threats in ways that are not necessarily helpful. We are seeing a lot of denial with people still not getting vaccinations. Careless behavior is cropping up again with large gatherings, no masks, and no space for social distancing. We must never forget that God is always with us, Jesus is the source of all hope, and the Holy Spirit can and will calm our beings to face whatever comes to us with the grace of God’s Peace.

Prayer: Lord, we are scared and frustrated that all we can do is take a shot or two, wear masks, socially distance, and wash our hands. We are somewhat like the Israelites leaving Egypt. Help us remember that you provided for them just as you can and will conquer our anguish and help us make good decisions not only for ourselves but for all the people with whom we come into contact. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4561.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.