Jesus our 'bread of life'

John 6 : 22 - 35

It is still the season of "Easter" in the liturgical calendar. How wise.....for we could never fully appreciate the significance of the Resurrection in just that one day, Easter Sunday. The readings come from the gospel that is rather 'mystical', where John shares his experience of Jesus in ways that open doors rather than provide simplistic answers.

The 'bread of life' is one such description John records. An everyday image that all can understand. An image from the physical world, our bodily needs, that is the experience of all. But perhaps every time we meditate on these words, we hear something new. As we have moved and changed, we are open in new ways to what God offers.

For me, the 'bread of life' initially meant being 'saved', Jesus being the means of salvation (or life). The meaning has deepened over the years and i ponder now how Jesus comes to us in the 'bread' we take in the Holy Communion. Does the 'sacrament' (or ordinance as some traditions call it) minister a deep spiritual presence of the Lord (though some traditions would even say 'real presence') or is it merely a memorial? I appreciate my church's practice of having an altar rail where we come forward for the Holy Communion. It is so meaningful and humbling to kneel to receive Jesus' 'body and blood' (the words used in the liturgy). I now understand more and more how Jesus as the 'bread of life' is the only one who can truly satisfy every hunger in our hearts, being the source and goal of all our spiritual seeking.

Lord, sustain us everyday, even though we sometimes pick up only the dry crumbs rather than the fresh bread you offer.