Have you ever walked into a house and were greeted by the smell of warm bread fresh out of the oven? Mmm. I remember waiting, as a child, to see what my mother or grandmother would pull out of the oven – would it be a loaf of bread or rolls? I always hoped that it would be rolls – because then, usually, I could taste one while it was still warm.
There is something special about bread. Every culture has a bread or bread-like staple. And I have learned to not only enjoy the recipe for fresh wheat bread that my mother passed on to our family and the lefse recipe from my grandmother but also tortillas, naan, pita and rice cakes and even gluten free crackers. It seems that bread is not just food – it is an essential part in our lives.
This was true for people in Jesus’ day too. Today’s Gospel comes after Jesus fed 5000 men – not even counting women and children – with one boy’s lunch of bread and fish.
After Jesus did that – everyone wanted more. “Fill us with this bread” they cried. This bread – miraculous bread, abundant bread --- reminded people very much of the bread from heaven that their ancestors ate when Moses led their people through the wilderness. The sweet taste of bread combined with the miracle of abundance where there was enough for all and leftovers too. They wanted more of that kind of bread. And Jesus has more to give. But Jesus is not interested in simply creating a free bakery out on the shores of the Galilee.
Instead, later, when he is teaching in the synagogue, Jesus proclaims: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus not only offers bread for lunch – but sustenance enough to satisfy you for a lifetime.
He got some push-back for those statements. I mean they must have been thinking “what kind of bread is that? What water can sustain you so that you are never thirsty on a hot summer day?”
But rather than explain, Jesus surprises them by saying: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life… for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”
For us who are reading this story many years after Jesus’ resurrection and who are part of the Christian faith, we can see clearly the connection between Jesus’ statements – shocking at the time – and our own practice of Holy Communion and hearing Jesus’ words: “This is my body – given for you. This is my blood – shed for you.” But at the time, one of the things that had set the Jewish people, Jesus’ faith community, apart from pagans was their strict dietary laws. They would have been horrified to hear a rabbi is talking about drinking his blood and eating his flesh. That sounded to them like the pagan rituals that they had worked so hard to condemn. And in fact, in the church’s early years, some Roman leaders persecuted Christians in part because they thought Christians were cannibalistic.
Every Gospel tells the story about Jesus’ miracle of feeding a crowd with just some bread and fish and prayer – but the Gospel of John is different from the others.
We begin the Gospel of John by being introduced to Jesus not as a baby or at his baptism but as present at the very beginning of creation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But these ethereal beginnings change very soon and we read: “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Jesus lived like us. And then, throughout the Gospel, Jesus proclaims who He is by using a variety of ordinary images. Jesus says, “I Am the Door”; “I Am the Gate”, “I Am the Good Shepherd.” And in today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims: “I Am the bread of life.” Each of these metaphors are meant to open up people then and now to receive the gift that Jesus is giving to us and to the world.
A few years ago, author, pastor and speaker Gary Chapman defined “The 5 Love Languages” in a book by the same name. He suggested that people prefer to receive love in one of five ways – through words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, physical touch or by receiving gifts.1 Based in part from his work as a marriage therapist, he suggested that, to build relationships, people pay attention to the way that those that they love want to receive love.
So that makes sense, but I’m not sure if God has a preferred love language for receiving love. However, God’s love language for giving love to God’s people throughout the Bible always seems to include a feast.
Providing food and drink – especially an abundance of good food – may be the ultimate love language because it includes all 5 of the “love languages.” (1)An act of service was performed in the making of the food, (2) we receive a word of affirmation – you are invited to the table, (3) to time together, (4) to enjoy physical presence, and of course, enjoy (5) the gift of food.
Throughout God’s history with God’s people, God invites us to a banquet, as Wisdom proclaims: “Come and eat of my bread and drink of the wine that I have mixed.” And, as we sang in the Psalm: we are invited to: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” God’s gift of food and drink that we can touch and see and taste is a gift of love in any language. And, it is given for you.
This is a love language that we know and practice. It’s been harder in the pandemic when we didn’t know what was safe or healthy to share. But the giving of food to those who are hungry and to those who are hurting is a love language that we know how to do.
For example, during the pandemic, one of my neighbors, I’ll call him John, was diagnosed with throat cancer. His wife put out a caring bridge site. As friends and neighbors, we wrote words of encouragement and lifted him up in prayer as they began scary treks to the hospital for Chemo even when covid was raging. And then, one of our neighbors decided to start a “meal train.” The spots filled up quickly. When it was finally my turn, I asked his wife what John could still eat. I had noticed there were some pretty gourmet meals coming their way. But what John really wanted was some good ol’ chicken soup. And so that day, my love and care showed up as an ordinary bowl of chicken soup. That was my love gift to them.
And I know that you have done the same – time and again… when you hear that someone is hurting or there is a death in the family… hotdishes start to arrive. Other people bring cookies. A feast is spread. When a college student goes off to college and you know that they are facing some tough finals – somehow a care package arrives stuffed with love deliciously disguised as cookies. You know this love language that shows up packaged in cupcakes and cookies, hotdishes and sandwiches and in bread and wine.
This is the love language that Jesus was speaking on those Galilean hills as he provided bread and fish and this is the language that he was speaking when he proclaimed in the synagogue and in churches then and now; I am the bread of life. This is my body. This is my blood. Take and eat. This is given for you. I have come so that you may have life and have it abundantly. I love you. This is most certainly true. Amen.
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church August 15, 2021 Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
1 Gary Chapman, The 5 Love Languages as cited in: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/most-common-love-language_n_5b4f906be4b0b15aba8b1d2c