God’s Beloved,
Blessings for the month of August. This month we will spend time dwelling in the Gospel of John, and will focus much of our attention on Jesus, the Bread of Life. Unique to the Gospel of John, there is no Passover meal/Last Supper like we find in the Synoptic Gospels.
Rather, the Gospel of John focuses on how Jesus is the Bread of Life. A theology that is deeply rooted in Jesus’ life, God’s abundance, and sustenance. As Jesus’ points out in the Gospel of John, it was God who provided manna in the wilderness; and it is God who continues to provide for us today through Jesus, the Bread of Life.
However, trusting that God will provide is easier said than done. Because when we are provided for, we instinctively want to cling to it, trying to prolong its comfort, warmth, and nourishment—just like the Israelites did. As God told them to gather just enough manna for a day, but they did not listen. Instead, they gathered more than they could eat and stashed away the left overs. And when morning came, any left-over manna had become wormy and rotten… Thankfully, God continued to provide for them, and outside their tent each morning was fresh manna, fresh bread from heaven, because God is faithful.
There are so many lessons in this short narrative. I hope you are able to join us this August as we unpack just a little bit of this. I hope you are able to find time in prayer and reflection, pondering what it means for Jesus to be the Bread of Life. What it means to trust that God will provide, each and every day, for you. What it means to trust in the Lord’s Prayer and that God will give us our daily bread. Amen.