"Give Us This Bread Always"
For six weeks this summer (we're in the middle of it right now), most mainline Protestant denominations focus on John 6 as the gospel reading for the week. The 6th Chapter of John. In it we hear the gospel writer talk about feeding the five thousand with a few loaves and fish. We hear Jesus say "I am the bread of life". We'll hear Jesus say later on, "I am the living bread that came down from Heaven." And more.
So what's the deal with bread for John? As I'm thinking about things while writing this, and our weekly getting familiar with your bible, one way to do so is to pick a word - any word, that comes to mind that you might think would show up in the bible. Here are some of them that maybe you'll want to think about:
sin
death
forgiveness
grace
light
life
kill or killed
food
gate
woman or man
You can think of a thousand other words that might show up with some regularity in Scripture, from Genesis through Revelation. Take a second and add to this list above. What words are you curious about that may be in Scripture more than a few times (not counting "the" and so forth.)
Next, if you're near a computer, or tablet, find a good bible word search engine, and type in one of the above words, and see how often the word is used, and in what context it's used. My "go to" word search for Scripture is a free site, called "bible gateway". You can find it at www.biblegateway.com. I use it all the time. Check it out.
With what I've said above, the word I'm thinking of this week is "bread". Bread. Scripture has plus or minus, 400 references to bread. Think about how bread might be referenced in both the Old and New Testaments. Bread is al old as humanity itself, isn't it? Here are some references that I think of when thinking about bread and the bible:
o Holy Communion - every Sunday we celebrate Holy Communion, and I break bread around the communion rail. There is symbolism in me actually "tearing" the bread, as a reference to the tearing of the flesh of Jesus on the cross. It's pulled apart, uneven, ripped, and so forth.
o In Exodus, God feeds Israel in the desert with bread. It keeps them not only alive, but connected to God. God feeds and Israel eats, although they tire of it pretty quickly. Remember that Moses gives Israel bread, but God gives the "true bread" that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.
o Also in Exodus, Israel, having no time to. bake bread before Pharaoh, they pack up their bread dough before it was risen, packed it on their shoulders in bowls and in their clothing, and away they went. Unleavened bread.
o Bethlehem - In the Hebrew, this means something like "house of bread". It's no coincidence that Jesus is born in "the house of bread" or the house of life. Think about that! The one who had come to feed the world with spiritual bread.
o In Ecclesiastes 11, God reminds Israel to "cast your bread upon the water, for you will find it after many days", reminding Israel to "store up" good things which will feed them later on
o at the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take, eat, this is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." So bread is also a symbol of forgiveness, and the community that receives it.
o And in 1 Corinthians 10, Jesus says to his disciples, "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
These are but a few of the many uses of "bread" in the bible. You can think of your own use of "bread" in Scripture. But for me, what "bread" points to most is Jesus himself. The bread of life.
This week, maybe think of a word that you think might show up with some frequency in the bible - maybe one of the words I offered above, or think of one on your own..Use your own online resource or www.biblegateway.com, mygo-to resource, and type the word in the search bar on the site. It's eye opening what this search will do for your appreciation of the Holy Scriptures. Happy searching, dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Greg