The Living Bread of Heaven—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 12B (John 6)

 

John 6:35, 41-51 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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.

⁴¹ Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² 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’?” ⁴³ Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. ⁴⁴ 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. ⁴⁵ 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. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ 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.”

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John 6 is a fruitful passage of scripture that the Revised Common Lectionary has invited us to spend significant time in. The reading for the week is the third of five weeks spent with a chapter that began with Jesus feeding the 5000, after which a crowd gathered seeking bread (after he walked across the lake), while he offered himself as the bread of life. In the reading for this week, Jesus develops further what he meant when he said he was the bread of life, such that whoever believes in him will not hunger or thirst again (Jn. 6:35).

The Gospel reading for the week includes verse 35, which was the closing verse of the previous week’s reading, and then picks the story up in verse 41, where the “Jews” —John’s references to the “Jews” are extremely problematic such that we’re not sure who he is speaking of and, we must always remember that Jesus was Jewish and with few exceptions all his interlocuters were Jewish—complain because he called himself the “Bread of Life.”  We skip over verses 36-40, where he speaks of those who see him and believe receive eternal life. It is a theme that gets developed as well in the reading for the week.

In verse 41, which notes that people are complaining because he spoke of himself being the bread that came down from heaven, leads to questions of identity. One of the questions that is found throughout the Gospels concerns Jesus’ identity. Who is this guy who makes what might be seen as rather outlandish statements? How can Jesus be the bread come down from heaven? Besides that not making much sense, the people in the crowd seem to know who he is. He’s the son of Joseph. The people know Jesus’ parents. So, how can he say he came down from heaven? As Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar sang:

I don't know how to take this

I don't see why he moves me

He's a man He's just a man

And I've had so many Men before

In very many ways He's just one more  (Tim Rice, lyrics)

Familiarity made Jesus’ declaration scandalous, especially now that he doesn’t seem willing to give them free bread.

                While the crowd complained about how Jesus defined his identity, he continued with the definition. He tells the people that no one is going to come to him unless the Father draws them to him. Those who are drawn to him, he’ll lift up on the last day. Here is where things get tricky again. Is God in the business of picking and choosing who gets eternal life? Isn’t that our decision? It depends on your view of God, but Jesus seems to point us in that direction. In answering their questions, he also appears to be letting us know that if we choose not to follow him there will be consequences. As for the one sending people to him, that is God, John’s Jesus tells the crowd that no one has seen God except the one who is from God. In saying this, Jesus seems to place himself above Moses who talked to God but didn’t actually see God’s face. So, the one who has seen God and been taught by God is Jesus, who is the bread come down from heaven (the manna of God). So, we have a clearer claim that Jesus is more than simply the son of Joseph. Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life.

                This call to believe needs some unpacking. Is it simply assent to a creed— “I believe.” Or, is it more than that? Some have suggested that when we read the word believe, we should read “trust” not assent. So, to put our trust in Jesus, to give our lives into Jesus’ hands, and to truly follow him, leads to eternal life.  One of the concerns raised by passages like this concerns the fate of those outside the faith. How do we live faithfully in a pluralistic world, embracing Jesus as Lord, without demeaning or condemning those outside the faith? At the very least, might we hold our beliefs in Jesus and the God whom he reveals with humility, recognizing that others might have good reasons for their own beliefs? In other words, confidence in our beliefs needn’t lead to arrogance.

                After once again declaring himself to be the bread of life, he speaks of the bread from heaven that came down during the exodus. Jesus points out that the ancestors ate the manna (bread from heaven) while in the wilderness, but still died. God provided that bread, but now God offers a different form of the bread of life, and that would be Jesus. To partake of that bread leads to life. Again, he declares, “I am the bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” Then after making that rather radical claim, he pushes his claim even further: “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn. 6:51). The reference to his flesh catches everyone’s attention. There is more to come in future weeks.

As we reflect on this reading, recognizing there is more to come, we can begin pondering the sacramental dimensions of the entire discussion, especially when it comes to seeing how John 6 informs the church’s understanding of the Eucharist. Because John’s version of the Last Supper lacks an explicit institution narrative, this chapter has long been looked to for a Johannine understanding of the Eucharist. More specifically, his references to himself being the bread of life, the bread of heaven, and then in verse 51 a reference to flesh being that bread, opens up opportunities to consider what it means for Jesus to be present in the Eucharist, whether in the elements or in the service itself.  

I have a special interest in the discussion of the connection between Jesus’ table fellowship as well as his teaching about the Eucharist since I’ve written a book on this subject that is in the process of being edited by a publisher. I’ve also written a small book on the Eucharist titled: The Eucharist: Encounters with Jesus at the Table, (Energion Publications, 2014). If we read this passage with the Eucharist in mind, we might hear Jesus offering himself up as a means of sustenance, not physical sustenance, but spiritual sustenance. I don’t believe either Jesus or John intends for us to take the references to Jesus being the bread of life literally. Therefore, the Eucharist serves as a place where we take into ourselves bread and wine (juice), which symbolically feed on Jesus, taking him into our lives, so that we might participate in the life of God. So, if we’re open to the possibilities when we gather at the table with Jesus as host, it can become a place of transformative encounters. The communion elements don’t have magical properties, but by sharing in the meal within the community of faith, we may find that the experience helps create the foundation for a deeper relationship with God. Consider what John Calvin writes, with the words of John 6:26 in mind:

 It is that we are quickened by the true partaking of him; and he has therefore designated this partaking by the words “eating” and “drinking,” in order that no one should think that the life that we receive from him is received by mere knowledge. As it is not the seeing but the eating of bread that suffices to feed the body, so the soul must truly and deeply become partaker of Christ that it may be quickened to spiritual life by his power [Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion (2 Volume Set), IV.17.5 (vol. 2, p. 1365)].

You don’t have to be a Calvinist to discern that John Calvin has something important to say about what happens when we gather at the table. When we gather at the table the belief required here is not mere assent to doctrines, but it is an openness to receiving spiritually Christ into our lives so that we might be transformed by the encounter. Therefore, when we gather at the table, transformation may occur. He writes further, making note of John 6:51: “In this way the Lord intended, by calling himself the ‘bread of life’ [John 6:51], to teach not only that salvation for us rests on faith in his death and resurrection, but also that, by true partaking of him, his life passes into us and is made ours—just as bread when taken as food imparts vigor to the body." [Institutes, 2:1365].

                I appreciate this word from Nicholas Wolterstorff who writes that “liturgical communion between God and God’s people attains its highest form in the Eucharist. By eating the bread and drinking the wine we receive Christ into ourselves, whereupon, Christ dwells and works within us” [The God We Worship: An Exploration of Liturgical Theology, p. 161].  If I may be so bold, is this not why we should gather at the Table with greater frequency than is true for most Protestant traditions (I must note here that my own tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) does practice weekly communion, though our practices can be rather sloppy). Although there is more to come, John has broached the subject of Jesus’ identity as the bread from heaven who provides spiritual sustenance as we embrace him (believe), which opens up the possibility of eternal life. The Eucharist (Lord’s Supper) serves as that conduit where we can spiritually partake of Jesus’ life.