Background information is crucial. You cannot just pull scripture willy-nilly out of its original context – and expect to find understanding and meaning.
One more time, context is so crucial!
John the evangelist is writing at the end of his life… (Some scholars believe this to be written 60-70 years after Jesus’ execution and resurrection.)
As John writes, the young fledgling church is under severe persecution from the Romans.
The church has also pretty much lost all of its connections – with its original Jewish roots.
John does NOT write for the general population. He is writing to a specific group of Christians. His writing is to a small, threatened and harassed inner group, who may have no first-hand memory or experience of Jesus.
Chances are also good that they have no idea what it means to be Jewish. They are Christians. They are “the baptized!”
John believes that not only are their physical lives at stake, but so also, are their – eternal lives.
They need to understand Jesus and his message. They need to be embedded, they need to abide, they need to stay, to stick, and they need to remain firmly committed to Jesus.
At the same time, they need strength and sustenance for whatever it is that lies ahead for them.
The fear and the pain of Roman arrest, torture and even bloody execution – was all within the realm of real possibility.
John hopes to strengthen them with “THE WORD.”
Last week we talked about physical hunger…and this week we are talking about a kind of “spiritual sustenance”…or being “spiritually fed.”
As always, with John, there is a lot going on…in – and behind – the text…
In Chapter 4 of John, he tackles “spiritual thirst” – in the story of the woman at the well. One thinks immediately of baptismal imagery.
Now two chapters later he talks about “spiritual hunger…and being fed”…and the Eucharistic overtones continue…
In both cases the individual or the people say, “Give me this water always,” or “Give us this bread always.”
These two passages talk of ordinary everyday things like bread and water, and yet they point people to realities that are “far beyond the ordinary.”
Big things are going on, even if you can’t always see them…
God can give water and bread that can be the very seeds of eternal life. God can cause wells to spring up, gushing into eternity.
Simple things can “be signs” of things too great – to even fully understand.
Do not take them for granted!
Both Baptism and the Eucharist or Holy Communion had been fully established in the spiritual lives of Christians…
Jesus will strengthen you, with his Body and Blood for whatever lies ahead.
Therefore come and be fed, because he is the True Bread of Life. This is both physical and spiritual food…for the soul!
But you need to abide. You need to come. You need to physically show up – to be fed.
We are not talking about Panera breads, or Wonder Bread, or Potato Bread, or Sour Dough, or even Pepperidge Farms Cinnamon Swirl…those breads will all mold, turn blue and green and purplish, get hairy and be discarded. They are breads that will perish.
Don’t be confused, we are not talking about them.
We are talking about the Bread of life. We are talking about the Bread sent from heaven.
This bread was sent from God. This bread was sent for the salvation of the world. This bread was sent for the forgiveness of our sins…This bread was given for you and for me…for all…
We are to remember.
We are not to take it for granted.
We are to receive it gladly. We are to celebrate! We are to receive it often.
We are to be fed for what lies ahead.
We are to be fed for the unknowns … in the coming week.
We are to remember Jesus’ last meal with his disciples…
We are to be mindful this is a spiritual meal that leads to eternal life.
No matter what our circumstances, we are to remain, to be loyal, to abide, to stay, to stick, to embed ourselves to him…and in the end, he will give us eternal life.
He loves us – that much – and more.