March 16, 2009

John 6:38 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever.

This is a pretty outrageous claim that Jesus is making here. Can you imagine never getting hungry again? I can rarely make it from meal to meal without wanting a snack in between (I’m munching on an apple as I write this). Of course, Jesus is talking about spiritual hunger and thirst here, not physical. Just the same, I don’t know anyone who claims to have complete contentment in his or her spiritual life. We live with ups and downs, hopes and doubts, moments of intimacy with God and times of apparent abandonment. So is Jesus just blowing smoke here? I don’t think so. I’m hungry and thirsty a lot but not to the point of real need. I may want more but I never fear starving or dehydration. Maybe Jesus is using a little hyperbole here to let us know that the fulfillment he provides is substantive if not exhaustive. What I mean is that what Jesus does for us as the bread of life makes a real difference in our inner lives, a difference that is solid and lasting and satisfying, even if it still ebbs and flows. Even Jesus experienced the anguish of the Garden of Gethsemane and the suffering of the cross. The folks who wrote the gospels had their share of persecution and disappointment. Yet through all that they were willing to proclaim that the reality of their faith was still enough to keep them going. Maybe there are more ways to feed on this bread of life than we a willing to try and maybe we would hunger and thirst even less if we were more accepting of this nourishment. But beyond our effort, or lack thereof, is the presence of Christ through faith that in its most basic form is enough in itself. Have a slice of that bread this week.

Don