August 10, 2003

Mindekirken August 10^th 2003
Pastor Jens Arne Dale

I am the bread of life John 6.35 and 41-51

God has revealed himself. Moses was among those who experienced that. He was keeping the flock of his father-in-law when he saw a burning bush. When he turned aside to see it, he heard the voice of the Lord saying that he was standing on holy ground. Then Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses wanted to know what to say when people asked who had sent him, what’s your name, Lord? I am who I am. Thus you shall say to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. Exodus 3.14

When Jesus had given food to the 5000 a discussion began about what really had happened. Jesus wanted to contribute more than food. He wanted to satisfy another hunger, a hunger only he could satisfy. Therefore he says: I am the bread of life. This sounds beautiful, poetic and meaningful. In this sentence it’s easy to consider the words "bread of life" the most meaningful. But maybe it is the first part which is the most important: I am…

At this moment Jesus uses the same expression about himself as God used when he revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush. I am. He uses the name which was only meant for God. By this he indirectly says he is God. The first time we read this it's not easy to recognize it. But when we read the whole gospel of John we see that Jesus uses the "I am" expression seven times: I am the light of the world. I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way and the truth and the life. I am the true wine. I am the bread of life.

Sometimes we speak about self-awareness. It’s a good thing to be aware of who you are. Be satisfied with your looks. Know that you have a lot of good abilities. You can achieve a lot. You are valuable. It’s important to have a self-awareness which is realistic and to accept oneself, enjoy oneself. Some struggle with low self-esteem, they feel they are inferior, are not able to achieve anything, are not worthy to be loved.

To others it’s the opposite, they may imagine the most fantastic things. It’s pretty demanding to live close to somebody who has too big thoughts about themselves. In Jerusalem they have a special ward at a mental hospital for people who think they are the Messiah. It’s a pity. It’s worse when people with a warped self-awareness hold a position of power in religion or politics. The world should have been spared some of its leaders.

It’s thoughts like this which come to the Jews when Jesus says I am the bread of life. What does he imagine? What kind of self –image does he have? Can we interpret this as a healthy skepticism? The Jews were otherwise able to believe quite a bit.

There’s a lot of examples that show they were led. They were aroused to riot which led to catastrophes. It was not easy for them to separate the genius from the crazy. When Jesus gave food to the 5000, it almost came to mass hysteria. They wanted to take him by force to make him their king, it says. Do we see a bit of fanaticism and blind obedience behind the lines here?

But Jesus got it all calmed down. And when he started to explain the deeper meaning of the miracle of the bread, the enthusiasm disappeared and they got suspicious about swindle: 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? We know him.

When I attended high school there were about seven boys in my class. We got to know each other pretty well, even the most quiet one of the boys. Some years later I began to recognize his name in the music columns in the newspapers. The thing I didn’t get to know when we went to high school together was that he was a leading musician in his field in Norway.

The Jews thought they knew Jesus. Remember he had lived for 30 years in a small town. People knew he was the son of Joseph and Mary. Most likely Jesus had taken on a great responsibility for his family when Joseph died. And Jesus was a well respected man at the Synagogue every Sabbath. Even when he started as a rabbi with 12 disciples he got respect, the expectations rose even higher.

But in today’s text we see it’s starting to go the other way. And skepticism will turn into antagonism, hatred and even death. It’s interesting to see that already here, in John 6, Jesus is aware of the fact that he will die.

The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.v.51. Jesus presents himself with the words: I am the bread of life. By this he forced people to choose. He uses words which may only be said about God himself, I am.

There’s a point when it comes to Moses that he couldn’t see God and live. Jesus says about himself that he is from God and has seen the Father. Here we meet a self-awareness which is limitless. Practical farmers and craftsmen of Galilee sensed the madness of the words. The scribes saw it as blasphemy.

Even so, there is a third alternative: The words of Jesus might be true. Jesus might be the one he says he is. Our whole Christian faith stands and falls with the confidence that Jesus really was the Son of God.

We need food every day. And we need human warmth and fellowship. But humans also have a need for God. That was the message of Jesus. It might be felt like a hunger or that we are being drawn towards God, Jesus says, v.44. We do have a spiritual life that needs to be nourished. It happens when we gather for service or other meetings in the name of Christ.

If we neglect Christian fellowship, drop prayer, and let the Bible lay untouched, we also let our faith life starve. We need the nourishment of the bread of life to live and grow. In the letters in the NT there’s a lot about this. Peter says Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, 1 Pet 2.2 Paul complains about the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians. They were not ready for solid food, and needed to be fed with milk, 1 Cor 3.2 In the letter to the Hebrews we read about solid food for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Heb 5.14.

We grow as Christians by living in faith, by taking in spiritual nourishment whether it is called solid food or milk. But when Jesus used the expression the bread of life, he didn’t focus on growth. The focus is laid upon the fact that whoever eats this bread will have a totally different quality of life. Jesus doesn’t speak of much or little faith, weak or strong.

The one who believes, the one who eats the living bread, if only a bit, has eternal life. Something important which the believer can’t have influence on happens. He will live even if he dies. One can’t avoid physical death. But having a relationship to Jesus Christ is a guarantee of getting eternal life.

In this respect Jesus is the answer to questions no one else can answer. He alone is from God and can provide people with contact with God. Seen from our angle we are the ones who choose to become Christians. From God’s angle it he who has drawn us towards Christ and has given us everything. The bread of life is something you can’t deserve. It’s given to us by grace alone. It consists of words. Jesus is called the word in John 1.1. And next Sunday we’ll see that Jesus meets us as the bread of life through communion.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716