I am the bread of life. John 6.35 & John 6.48

These words repeated twice in this mornings reading are at the heart of St John’s Gospel. All through this gospel John wants his readers to be clear about who Jesus is.

The first clue to who Jesus is came from that familiar reading from St John on Christmas morning: “In the beginning was the word...(which) became flesh and lived among us...full of grace and truth.”

Now in chapter 6, John gets to the heart of the matter: the relationship between the human and divine. In a discussion with religious leaders this relationship is given some practical application.

As regards the human, the facts of the paternity of Jesus are not in dispute. Jesus is human, he is the son of Joseph conceived out of wedlock, and he is out of Nazareth a town with a dreadful reputation. Jesus stands in solidarity with us all in being dependant on God for everything in this life.

As regards the divine: Jesus is not only out of Nazareth but out of God the Father, he has come down from heaven, he was sent by God as manna from heaven to make a difference to the way we look at life.

St John wants us to see that Jesus embodies both human and divine characteristics.

This is important for us as followers of Jesus, because today as on every Sunday, sometimes on a Thursday, we come together to share in the Holy Communion. We taste the bread and the wine, the body and blood of Christ crucified and risen to new life.

God not only sent Jesus all those years ago; God has sent Jesus into our life. Our Christian way of life enables us to live within the teaching of Jesus who in turn learned it from God.

The reading from the ancient writings of the first book of Kings shows how God sustained and refreshed the prophet Elijah at a time when he was frightened by life and was seeking safety. Similarly, we are sustained and refreshed in our Christian life by sharing in Holy Communion.

The teaching of Jesus is developed by St Paul in his letters, expanding ideas to encompass how our Christian behaviour needs to reflect the values of the Kingdom of God. In the reading from Ephesians St Paul emphases Honesty in our dealings with people. Being the sort of people who can be trusted reflects the love God has for all of us. We are reminded of the love of God as we taste again the bread and the wine in Holy Communion.

Bread is a staple food for us. Wine is a refreshing drink for us. Combined with ideas of new life in Christ, the bread and the wine refreshes our Christian life with the body and blood of Christ. Jesus is the bread of life, sent by God to bring us to experience a different way of living our life.

The Revd Malcolm France