Beginning on July 29th and continuing through the month of August, our Gospel readings will come from the 6th Chapter of John. This is widely known as Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. It starts with the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 and then spends much time unpacking what it means for Jesus to be the Bread of Life. We will hear phrases such as:
I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.
Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.
The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Needless to say, by the end of August we may have our fill of “Bread”. But even though we may grow weary of hearing the same sort of symbolic message week after week, and even though your pastor may want to pull his hair out by week 5, there is a richness to this discourse that just might transform us by the end of the month.
My hope is that we deeply reflect on the type of relationship Christ is calling us to in this life.
My hope is that we see the grace and mystery surrounding the holy sacraments.
My hope is that we not grow weary of this Bread of Life, but that we grow in a deeper appreciation of what all of this means in our lives of discipleship.
I guess what I’m asking of you, is your patience with the 6th Chapter of John during August and your patience with my preaching as I attempt to make all of this relevant for us today. May God be with us and fill us with holy appetites.
Peace,
Pastor Derek
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