We are moving into a part of the lectionary where the Gospel lessons seem very repetitive. Jesus refers to himself as "the bread of life". Last Week was the first instance in our cycle, but we will hear echoes of it for the next three Sundays.
As a preacher, I have not always looked forward to this time in the lectionary cycle. I have sometimes felt like each week I am saying, " and another thing about the bread of life." Repetition, however is a very useful strategy.
As we repeatedly reflect on Gospel themes, we encounter those themes in different ways. What first seems like more or the same, becomes subtly different and deeper. Spending more time with a theme, and examining the different dimensions of it, can open new pathways for engagement.
Bread is food; food is necessary sustenance for life and health. Bread is food; food is fuel to propel the body to physical action and endurance. Both dimensions are required.
Bread is also part of a meal, and meals communicate something about the relationship that participants share. Meals are events in the lives of individuals, participation creates a community. Bread can be part of a simple intimate meal, and it can also be part of a highly ritualized, sacramental action. A sacramental meal points beyond the present moment to the past and the future, bringing both into harmony.
Bread is the Body of Christ, and it accomplishes all the features mentioned. As we reflect on "the bread of life", I hope to break beyond the feeling of unenthusiastic, lifeless repetition. I hope to engage the place of Jesus in my life as sustenance, strength, maker of intimacy and the presence of God.
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1 comment:
it's the human condition isn't it, on how we can so easily take this in and let it go. You know it has taken me a life time to understanding that we are spiritual beings existing in a temporary human vessel,rather than a human being that has the occasional spiritual experience. Jesus is the essence of our life...and I hope if we hear that often more people will come to truly understand. So keep it coming!
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