Pastor Tom Johnson, August 1, 2021
Our first reading from Exodus begins with the Israelites at the point of hunger and despair. “If only we had died in Egypt…where we had slowly cooked meat and plenty of bread to eat.” They accuse God of attempted murder: “You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” They fear that God has only brought them through Red Sea on dry land and drowned Pharaoh’s army in order to end their misery with starvation—to leave them as orphans in the wilderness. God answers this cry of despair, hopelessness, and dread with his grace—he gives them bread from heaven. This is gracious bread of heaven. They do not deserve this bread nor have they earned it. It is a gift of mercy and grace.
It is also mysterious bread. Every morning there was a layer of dew that covered the camp. The fine, flaky substance was gathered as fine as frost on the ground. And only one Hebrew word came to the lips of the Israelites: “Mān?” “What?” “What is it?” For the rest of the Hebrew Bible into the New Testament, this bread from heaven is known by the initial question: “Mān?” or in it’s Greek transliteration “Manna?” It’s a reminder of God’s unexpected and mysterious grace. So God not only fills their stomachs with bread but also fills their souls with wonder. This manna—this bread of heaven helps us more fully understand the gift that we have in Jesus, our Bread from Heaven. He is the one who says, “I am the Bread of Life.” He also mysteriously is sent from heaven to earth. He is the gracious gift from God that we neither deserve nor have earned. He covers the camp of his people with the assurance that the God who created us will sustain us by the Word of his power. He fills our lives with his perfect life and righteousness. Though our sins are as red as scarlet, he makes us as pure as snow and the morning dew. He gives his Body as bread and his Blood as wine. He graciously and mysteriously communes with us, forgives us, and assures us of life everlasting body and soul.
The irony in our reading from John chapter six, is that a crowd followed Jesus looking for more free bread. You’ll remember that Jesus just fed the 5,000. They’re hungry again. But their hunger is merely physical; they are not hungering for truth. They only wonder where they can get their next meal. They are not filled with wonder of who Jesus is. They are not hungering to know Jesus. They have forgotten God’s Word to the Israelites who ate the manna in the wilderness in Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3: “He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus does not want to be known as a mere miracle worker. He does not want to be only appreciated when he is giving out bread. He wants to be fully known for who he is. He does not want to merely be our supply. He is the Bread of Heaven—the one who feeds us body and soul.
Simone Biles, a gymnast competing in the Tokyo Olympics, is globally known for her excellence. Simone has won more medals than any gymnast in history—25 medals, 19 of which are gold. She is favored to win many more this time around. Last week, she decided to step back from the competition in order to make her mental health a priority. Simone is an abuse survivor. The pandemic delayed the Olympic Games one year. Only Simone and her trusted friends and family know what all she is struggling with in her internal world. In a public statement on Twitter she said, “the outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before.” She realizes that all the applause for her medals is, as Jesus says, “working for food that perishes.” People are fickle. One moment they may applaud you; the next, they may deride you. Many showed love and support for who she is and not for what she has accomplished. This may have saved her life and career. It’s okay for us not to know all that has led Simone to this point. It’s between her and God and whomever she invites into that inner world. Simone may save many other lives by her example—mentally and physically. Simone will not exist to be merely the supply of Olympic medals. She alone is of more value than gold and silver to God, to her friends and family, and to herself.
Jesus will not exist to be merely the supply of earthly bread. He is more precious than silver and gold to God the Father and to us. And you, child of God, are so precious to God that he gives his only Son as the Bread of Life for the world—no matter what you have or have not accomplished. His love is unconditional and eternal. It is okay that we live out our lives with perplexity and wonder. I love that reminder in the name of the bread God gave from heaven: “What is it?” It is forever a reminder of the grace and wonder of God. The manna and Jesus are gifts from heaven that reveal God’s love for his people. Jesus is the Bread of heaven. He is even more than that. He shows us that we too are enough. We are more than supply for others. We are worthy of the Bread of heaven because he loves us unconditionally. He does not answer our sin with judgment but with grace. He does not repay our doubts with punishment but with mercy. And we have the joy of being part of a journey of discovery, wonder, and learning more and more about this Jesus—the bread of heaven—God’s gift to his creation who gives us this bread as his Body and cup as his Blood to strengthen us body and soul unto life everlasting.
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