Pastor’s Corner – June 15, 2023
The I am Statements of Jesus I: Bread of Life
The Gospel of John explores the identity of Jesus in a series of seven I am statements. In Hebrew the words for I am are related to the name of God. In Exodus 3:14 God introduces the Divine name to Moses. The faithful, in respect and awe, do not even speak the name of God, so no one knows for sure how it is pronounced. Nor does anyone know exactly what it means, maybe it means: I am who I am or I will be who I will be or just I am or something else.
Through the revelation of Jesus, we can learn more about the Divine identity. The first I am statement is found in John 6:48-51. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
One key to understanding this metaphorical statement is the historical connection to manna in the wilderness. About 1500 years before Jesus, God called and empowered Moses and Miriam to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. Along this journey God provided food in the form of manna (In Hebrew manna means “what is it?”). Each day the people could gather just what they needed for that day, no more and no less.
Jesus builds on this remembrance of God’s daily provision in the Exodus, not only teaching us to pray give us this day our daily bread, but also by suggesting that his presence is the nourishment that connects us to life with God—a full and good life now and forever.
This I am statement is put into practice in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. When we partake of the bread we are invited to receive the bread of life. From the manna the Creator makes available for bodily nourishment day by day to the bread of life that offers the strength we need for this life and the hope we need for the life to come; Jesus reveals God’s grace that provides. Are you open to God’s graceful provision?
Yours in Christ,
Marc
