Reflection on John 6:35, 41-51

 

John 6:35, 41-51

35Jesus said to [the crowd,] “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I 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.”

Reflection

As our train whisked past the vast rolling grasslands of western North Dakota, carrying us to our destination of family in Montana, I noticed a glimpse of life out the window.  In a low area between two hills in the treeless landscape sat a lone cottonwood tree.  The scant water from infrequent storms running down the hills was obviously sustaining this single tree in the harsh, dry environment.  And, eating from the lower branches of this single tree was a small, whitetail deer.

It was a quick glimpse of life, sustained by God, which was soon gone as the next, treeless, grassy hill quickly obscured the view.  Even in the harshest of environments, God provides a tree and some food.

As I sat back in my seat, I thought of Elijah, tired, hungry, and alone in the wilderness.  I thought about how he too was sustained by God under a solitary broom tree.  Full of fear and despair, God also sent a gift of freshly bakes cakes and water; bread from heaven (1 Kings 19:5-6).  Though Elijah was in the shadow of death, God provided a tree and food, just as the deer was provided a tree and food.  Even in the harshest of times, God provides a tree and some food.

As the train passed into Montana, I saw more cottonwoods as the dry, grassy hills gave way to a small oasis with a flat, slow moving stream at its base.  Cattle were drinking and others were sleeping nearby.  Watching a calf wade into the shallow waters, I thought of the joy of the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness and God gave them their own oasis.  Trees, water, and soon food falling from the heavens were all gifts from heaven to sustain them through the harshness of their wilderness wandering.  Despite their biting accusations, accusing God of abandonment in the wilderness, God gave some trees and sent manna from heaven (Deuteronomy 15:22-16:21).  Even in the harshest of life circumstances, God provides a tree and some food.

It has always been this way.  From the beginning of time, God provided a tree and some food.  God provided a tree in the middle of the newly created garden (Genesis 2:9).  The tree of life was there, to provide food to sustain life forever. 

It is still there, in the garden, sustaining life through the end of time.  The book of Revelation says that the tree of life “with its twelve kinds of fruit,” will be there, “producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tress are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2).  Revelation teaches that God’s people will “hunger no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).  Even when this first creation comes to an end, God provides a tree and some food.

There is a legend that when asked what he would do if he was told that the world was going to end tomorrow, church reformer, Martin Luther, answered, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”  He knew God’s heart.  He knew that even when things start going to pieces, it is in God’s heart of provide a tree and food, thus he would forever seek to do the same with his apple tree.

God provides a tree and some food.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” were the words that drew me from my tree and food ruminations on the train.  It was one of my kids, seeking some train sustenance.  It is kind of ironic when you think about it; I was thinking about trees and God providing food and one of my own were seeking some snacks. 

I took off one shoe, stood on the seat and reached up into the overhead bid, where our snack container resided.  I grabbed out our pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It was bread from heaven; well at least bread from the overhead bid. 

There was a little Amish girl who was staring at me from a few seats ahead the entire time.  Well, she was actually staring at the sandwiches.  Apparently, it was getting close to lunch time for her as well.  And, though her parents brought plenty of food for the train ride, the hunger in her face reminded me of the fact that this sort of bread does not last.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will only fill the belly for so long, and then we will be hungry again.  The hunger in her eyes reminded me that not all children have even peanut butter and jelly to fill their bellies.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into “the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches” (Matthew 13:32).  He goes on to say that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that was hidden in three measures of flour, “until all of it was leavened” (Matthew 14:33).  In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food.

But, not everyone gets some of it.

Though it is no longer the news of the day, malnutrition is taking the precious lives of children in Gaza.  They are caught in the middle of a battle of which they have no part, but are being starved because of it.  In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food, but not everyone gets some of it.

You see, as the first humans looked into the middle of the Garden of Eden, they saw the tree of life which provides fruit to sustain life forever, but they also saw another tree of which they were not to eat.  And, as those first humans stared at the middle of the garden, they had a choice.  Trust God completely and eat of the fruit that gives life forever, or eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and trust in themselves? 

Which would you choose?  Which do you choose?  When faced with trust in God’s provision or trust in your own ability to provide, which do you choose?

Of course, we know which tree Adam and Eve chose.  We know how they rejected the tree of life and the food that it provides.  And, people have been rejecting it ever since.  People withhold food to tip the balance of wars, and it has deadly consequences.  People horde more food than they could possibly need for the day, or the week, or even the month, trusting in their own bread from heaven rather than that of God.

I do not know about your heart, or your pantry, but if you looked in mine it probably would not inspire in you a great sense of trust in God’s provision, unless God directly provides an overabundance of cookies from heaven.

We stand in the garden, looking at the two trees every single day, deciding from which tree we will pick.  Do we choose from God’s tree of life?  Do we choose from our own tree?

And, that is the choice that Jesus puts before the crowds as he talks about the bread from heaven.

“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” (John 6:48-51).

You see, when we stand and look toward Jesus, we have the same choice as when Adam and Eve stared at the two trees in the garden.  We can choose to trust in Jesus, the one who promises to give us the gift of life forever; a living bread “so that one may eat of it and not die” (John 6:50).  Or, we can choose the path of trusting in ourselves, because that seems to be working just great. 

Wars, a divided nation, family members disappointing and betraying, substances influencing, and can I throw in there just simply not knowing what to do when the weight of the world starts to bleed our lives of vitality, all seem to point to the fact that trusting in ourselves always seems to lead to death.

But, we still stare in the wrong direction anyway.  Having control of the world is enticing.  Having control of our lives is a strong need. 

And, as we continually stare in the wrong direction, we hear Jesus calling us to look in his direction, drawing us to walk in his way.  “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).  “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day” (John 6:44).  “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” (John 6:51).

Jesus calls us toward himself, so that we can finally have true life.

“I had only a can of soup and no can opener,” the man told me.  “It seems funny now, but it was anything but funny then” he explained.  “I had fallen so far in life, lost my job from being stupid, drowning my loneliness in beer (I wanted a girlfriend so bad but couldn’t get one), and there I was in my tiny trailer by the river with only a can of soup and no can opener.  I walked outside and just screamed my anger at God.  I looked up to the starless night sky of the city and just screamed, throwing the can to the ground.”

“I woke up my neighbor.  He was an old, limping, but happy sort of guy.  He came out of his trailer, sat on one of my cheap, plastic patio chairs, and listened to me that night.  He even opened my can for me.  I hadn’t thought to ask a neighbor.  Then, he took me to church the next day.” 

“That was when my life changed.  It was while at church that I learned about Jesus who offered life to me.  It was while at church that I heard about how Jesus died on a tree, burying my sins with him and rising again so that I could feast with him forever.  It was while at church that I learned that Jesus cares for guys just like me.”

In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food.  In God’s kingdom, the tree is cross shaped, it is love shaped, and the food is Jesus himself who feeds us with eternal life with him.  The man’s testimony was a powerful proclamation about how good Jesus is, but it was also a testament to how important Jesus’ people are as they come out of their trailers, open a can of food, and share the food that leads to eternal life. 

As we stare ahead, we have two choices: Jesus, who is our tree and eternal food, and the choice of our own desires.  Only one gives life.  “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever” (John 6:51).  Only one chooses to die so that you may live.  Only one cares that you have true, eternal life.  Choose Jesus, because he has already chosen you.