“O taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Scripture: 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 and Psalm 130  • 1 Kings 19:4-8 and Psalm 34:1-8  • Ephesians 4:25-5:2  • John 6:35, 41-51

We study again Jesus telling us he is the bread of life. Last week he told us we need bread to eat to nourish our bodies, and bread for our souls, which never leaves us hungry. This week Jesus tells his detractors and complainers, "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." 

What is it to eat of the bread of heaven? How does it affect our lives? It can break down barriers, egos, and all that separates us from the love of God, and who he calls us to be. 

Peter Woods tells us; "For you to have earthly bread requires the sweat of your brow. That’s your creature curse carried from Adam. Yet foreshadowed by the manna of the wilderness and now fully revealed in Jesus; the bread of life is offered to all who are hungry enough to trust that five barley loaves and two fish can feed a multitude. There is nothing to achieve or to do. Which means you cannot decide or designate who gets some and who doesn’t. You are not the baker nor the distributor. You are just another hungry pilgrim on the hillside or in the wilderness."  See his "What beggars know about bread."

Jim Ogden, in "Where's God when we're in trouble?" takes us through the gamut of human despair and joy, as David, after his sin and  learning of the death of his rebellious son, cries "Absalom, my Absalom, would only I had died instead of you." Elijah despairs after he summoned God's power in the  great victory over the prophets of Baal, fearing for his life, and wanting to die. God's angel bade him eat of bread provided by God for his long journey. Jesus is the bread of life, sent form heaven. Always present. He asks when do we look for God, or what do we ask of God? Ogden says "The reading from Ephesians puts it right on the bottom shelf.  What we need in our times of trouble is love embodied in everyday acts of truth and kindness.  Do we need to be recalled to the simple values of human relationship?  Living them is not always as simple as speaking them, but maybe we need to give it a try. 

Tell the truth, don’t steal, work hard, don’t talk trash about other people (how about don’t talk trash at all), don’t be bitter and angry and contentious, be kind, forgive—and the list goes on. (See especially Ephesians 4:25, 28-29, 31-32)  Doing these things will not save us.  No one will live them to perfection.  They remind us, however, of where to look for God and how to live through times of trouble.  Pay attention to the relationships around us.  God is there, and we are to “be imitators of God.” (Ephesians 5:1).