“Of Life”

Text: John 6:51-69

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

          Over these past two weeks we’ve been analyzing Jesus’ statement where He says to us, “I am the bread of life.” We heard that I AM is the divine and personal name of God which all the people would have understood to be Jesus proclaiming that He IS God. Then we heard about the bread, which is the nourishment that Christ gives to His people, entirely of Himself. Each of these two parts of this singular statement could have been, and were, offensive to some of the people who heard them. Today, we’ll focus on the last part of that statement from the concluding verses of John 6. Jesus says “I am the bread of Life” and even the “of Life” at the end of that statement can be offensive, and maybe confusing, to some. It’s why toward the end of today’s reading we hear that “After this, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.” This whole teaching caused a whole lot of people to turn away from Jesus. Those who have been following Him, marveling at the miracles He’s performing, and the teaching He’s doing, are beginning to question whether this is the path they want to continue to follow. All because Jesus speaks the truth that

I AM. THE BREAD. OF LIFE.

“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” That’s what the disciples who leave say. When the going gets tough, they fall away. Refusing to allow the truth of what Jesus is saying to be their guide. Instead, preferring a life that allows them to be in control. That gives them the freedom to be their own God and to try to provide their own bread. That’s the kind of life we’re all inclined to want to live. One where we’re completely in control and we’re able to do it all on our own. But that’s not the life promised by God. His idea is better.

Life is a wonderful, joyous and incredible thing. We celebrate it when a new life comes into this world. Baby showers and presents and pictures on Facebook. We love to see a new baby sleeping in his mother’s arms. New life is a gift and a blessing. And yet, not everyone welcomes new life as the gift and blessing from God that it is. Our sinful, hardhearted world works very hard to make it acceptable to snuff out new life just as it’s beginning. To convince as many as possible that my life, or your life, is of greater value than the one who’s most vulnerable. I’ve been involved in ministries that seek to care for those making difficult decisions regarding life. I’ve visited Anchor of Hope Ministries in Sheboygan and seen the amazing work that’s being done as they help women, and men, make decisions for life. Helping people to understand the blessing and the joy that’s found in God’s gift of life.

But it’s a battle. Directly across the street women are being fed a very different message. The message our world is so keen for all of us to hear. One that would say that there’s no sanctity in life. There’s no grand, God-given design. And it’s the same thing that many people think about the other end of the spectrum of life. In so many ways, we’re lead to believe that life, as it nears its end is simply a burden on others. When in fact this is the time when God’s children are preparing to enter into His presence. A time we should be shepherding His people into life eternal, the greatest of all gifts we’ve been given.

It’s no surprise that the ways of this world are in conflict with the ways of God. From the time of the first sin until the time Christ returns, there has been, and there always will be, conflict between God’s words and His ways, and our own. We’re selfish and sinful and don’t always want to follow God’s design for our lives. And sometimes what He says is hard for us to understand, just as it was for those who heard His words when He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” How can a people who are used to eating and then being hungry again by the time the next meal comes around, understand and believe that not only is the bread sent down from heaven, but that it’s also going to grant them eternal life?

I sometimes wonder if Jesus is intentionally cryptic in His teaching because He knows that people can’t understand it all at once. And then He has teaching like we hear today, “Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” That’s not cryptic at all. Jesus is saying ‘I am what you need. Only when you have Me will you truly have life.’ And when I think about that, it makes sense that Jesus is telling these people. He’s telling us. He’s telling the whole world something that’s so contrary to what the world would say, that we have no choice but to sit up and take notice. Because the world tells us something very different than this about life. The world would tell us ‘make the most of your life, because you only live once.’ ‘Live it up today, because tomorrow you’ll be gone.’ But we’re promised that that’s not true. And thanks be to God that life in Him is not here today and gone tomorrow, but everlasting. Life is a blessing. It’s given by God. It’s realized in our relationship with Jesus Christ. And it’s offered to us in His very body and blood, which is given and shed for you and for me.

It’s so contrary to what the world tells us, but it’s true. And it can be offensive to some who don’t understand the love with which it’s offered to us. And so there will always be those who question, and even reject the Words of Christ because they’re contrary to what the world tells us. And there will always be those who leave because of the difficult things Jesus says to us. But His closest disciples, the ones who would never leave Him, are able to hear and receive these hard teachings. When Jesus asks them, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter speaks up and says, for the whole group, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.” Peter, and each of you, know this to be true. Because you know the One who has spoken these words. “I AM the bread of Life.” And you know that these six simple words remind us that Jesus is God. I AM. He Is the bread that nourishes and sustains. And He IS the Life that we can find nowhere else.

There will be days when following Jesus is not the easiest of a multitude of choices that we have in front of us. In fact, that’s probably most days. There will be times when His words seem troubling to us, perhaps even offensive. And there will be points in our lives where we’ll hear God’s voice and wonder if we can listen to His hard sayings. It’s in these times that we realize that we cannot come to Jesus on our own, but rather are drawn to Him by the Father, through the Holy Spirit. And it’s at these times when we can look at the world around us and confidently say, ‘where else would we go?’ Or as the disciples said, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” The words which remind us that it’s only through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that we have life. And it’s only by His incredible grace that the life He gives is not just for this world, but for the eternity we are all promised in His presence. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.