John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Read John 6:35, 41-51 on biblegateway.com
Verse 35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Verse 41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verse 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'?" Verse 43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Verse 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. Verse 48I am the bread of life. Verse 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Verse 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. Verse 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."
Devotion
What is your favorite bread? Take a moment and imagine its smell, the way it feels as you tear into it, the endorphins coursing through your brain as you take your first bite. What bread did you imagine? Was it that slight tang of sourdough? Or maybe a thick cut of spicy rye? Or was it focaccia, that sponge of butter and herbs? Or maybe it was something nostalgic, like toast lathered in jam?
Now take that experience with bread, multiply it by a few million, and you might start to get what Jesus is offering you. I don't know if it is truly possible to grasp the love Christ has for us, but Jesus meets us where we are. Instead of comparing himself to the greatest philosophers, teachers, theologians or heroes of his day, he compares himself to bread—simple, ordinary, everyday, life-sustaining bread. It's a delicious place to start our contemplation of Christ.
Prayer
Jesus, teach me to see your love in the simple, ordinary, everyday things that surround me. Remind me that you can work with the ordinary to do incredible things. Amen.