Tara Bradford Photography
Bread of Life
Today, and for the next four Sundays, the Gospel of Mark is put aside for the gospel of John to begin an a four-week meditation on Jesus as The Bread of Life.
Having just begun the Atkins diet, I couldn't help but laugh a little at my restriction of not being able to have bread (or pasta, etc...). The feeding of the five thousand, however, marks a pivotal moment in all the gospels as Jesus moves out of the Galilee, his home "turf", and begins to head for Jerusalem. The gospel resonates well with the Old Testament reading from the second book of Kings where the prophet Elisha feeds the multitude despite a skeptical servant. Elisha is revealing God's abundance and care for his people. Leftovers is a powerful sign that God provides more than enough.
In John, Jesus performs the actions that are the foundational actions of the Eucharist. He takes, gives thanks (blesses), and gives. This dynamic extends beyond the meal into how we live the Bread of Christ we receive in communion. Taking: All we have that is good, God has given us, or rather all that is good participates in the life of God. The Eucharist comes from the Greek word meaning thanksgiving, so when we participate in Holy Communion, we participate fundamentally in an act of thanksgiving in response to God's goodness. Blessing: By receiving what God has to give us, it is only natural to sense God's blessing. One of my parishioners after receiving communion, instead of saying the traditional "Amen" to "The body Christ", says "Amen. Thank you, Jesus"; she gets it! She is responding to the blessing of God's goodness in Christ. Gives: What we receive, what we respond to in thanksgiving, isn't meant to be hoarded. God's blessings can only be shared, not kept. But the wonderful thing about blessings is that sharing them only enhances them, it doesn't deplete the store.
Given this awareness, the "miracle" of feeding the five thousand (families) is less miraculous in the supernatural sense, but a miracle nonetheless. Jesus' actions of sharing what little he had caused a wave of sharing that resulted in not only everyone getting his or her fill, but in an abundance signified by the leftovers. This is how God's blessings work; lots of leftovers to be taken and shared from our meal. What communion is all about is living the dynamic of taking, blessing and sharing. When we say we are a Eucharistic community we proclaim that we are a community that freely exchanges God's blessings as a way of meeting the world with the Good News, blessings from our life together.
Having just begun the Atkins diet, I couldn't help but laugh a little at my restriction of not being able to have bread (or pasta, etc...). The feeding of the five thousand, however, marks a pivotal moment in all the gospels as Jesus moves out of the Galilee, his home "turf", and begins to head for Jerusalem. The gospel resonates well with the Old Testament reading from the second book of Kings where the prophet Elisha feeds the multitude despite a skeptical servant. Elisha is revealing God's abundance and care for his people. Leftovers is a powerful sign that God provides more than enough.
In John, Jesus performs the actions that are the foundational actions of the Eucharist. He takes, gives thanks (blesses), and gives. This dynamic extends beyond the meal into how we live the Bread of Christ we receive in communion. Taking: All we have that is good, God has given us, or rather all that is good participates in the life of God. The Eucharist comes from the Greek word meaning thanksgiving, so when we participate in Holy Communion, we participate fundamentally in an act of thanksgiving in response to God's goodness. Blessing: By receiving what God has to give us, it is only natural to sense God's blessing. One of my parishioners after receiving communion, instead of saying the traditional "Amen" to "The body Christ", says "Amen. Thank you, Jesus"; she gets it! She is responding to the blessing of God's goodness in Christ. Gives: What we receive, what we respond to in thanksgiving, isn't meant to be hoarded. God's blessings can only be shared, not kept. But the wonderful thing about blessings is that sharing them only enhances them, it doesn't deplete the store.
Given this awareness, the "miracle" of feeding the five thousand (families) is less miraculous in the supernatural sense, but a miracle nonetheless. Jesus' actions of sharing what little he had caused a wave of sharing that resulted in not only everyone getting his or her fill, but in an abundance signified by the leftovers. This is how God's blessings work; lots of leftovers to be taken and shared from our meal. What communion is all about is living the dynamic of taking, blessing and sharing. When we say we are a Eucharistic community we proclaim that we are a community that freely exchanges God's blessings as a way of meeting the world with the Good News, blessings from our life together.
