From the locum
In the Gospel reading appointed for today, the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, the evangelist uses one of the many metaphors spread across John's gospel to explain the identity of Jesus – the Bread of Life.
As someone who loves bread, and the fresher the better, this description of Jesus's identity and purpose resonates deeply, and would have done so even more in the society of John's day, where bread was made daily and was a fundamental element of people's diets.
And so, in a way we see the culmination of our readings today. What started with David's heartbreak and despair has pointed us again and again to God's love being our foundation stone in troubled times through the ages. Now John reminds us that to be able to live these lives of love we are called to, we need to stay very close to Jesus. To take scriptures, prayer and our walk with Jesus on a day by day basis; constantly taking in the nourishment of Jesus' extravagant love, as Paul described it, and love-based wisdom to help us address the daily challenges that will constantly arise for us and force us to make a choice. Will we choose to react out of fear (of loss of face, respect, status, position, possessions, loved ones, health, life etc), or will we choose to be nourished enough by Jesus in our everyday life that we can truly be imitators of God and live in love?
I don't know about you, but it is easy for me to go off track in taking in Jesus as my daily bread. The rush of deadlines, workloads, concerns for family and friends – and myself. How easy it is to not take the time to dwell in God's presence and be nourished and restored by God's love. And when that happens, how easy it is to react out of tiredness, defensiveness, anger or fear. And oh, how different it is when I have taken those daily opportunities to be fully in God's presence, and how differently I respond!
Fr Michael