Light of the World

I let my reflection on Jesus' I AM statements slip a little this week. I didn't think about the next one ("I am the light of the world") in John 8:12 until this morning.

This is a statement that is an obvious concept, but hard to seek. The movies even portray darkness as something evil: in dark alleys people get mugged; evil villains come out at night; dark clothes convey bad behavior. While they portray darkness in a bad light (get it?), they also show light as something associated with goodness: crime deceases in daytime; vampires will die in the light; the hero wears white clothes.

As familiar as this image is, I am amazed at how Jesus says, "Whoever follows me will NEVER walk in darkness." Are you sure that I will never walk in darkness? "Yes," Jesus would say, "because you will have the light of life; you have me."

As physical trouble (and "darkness") might surround those who belong to Jesus, they continue to walk in light because they follow Jesus' light-filled path. It might look dark, but it is not. Christians follow the path that is filled with hope; it is filled with life. They have eternal life that goes beyond the circumstances in which they find themselves. Despite the circumstances, they have 'the light of life,' that is, Jesus.

Bread of Life 3

It occurred to me that we cannot live without food (duh!). If we do not eat, we die. Jesus talks in a spiritual manner saying that if we do not eat of the spiritual food of Jesus, who comes from the Father, then we will die spiritually. There is part of me that already knew this, but I guess my growing desire to commune with God intimately throughout the day has made this 'eating of the bread of life' more real. The life I have in Christ is only made possible because of the ever-growing relationship I have with him. How could I not eat from the bread of life and still live?

Bread of Life 2

The connection between Jesus' statements about being the bread of life and communion are pretty obvious. Especially since John is the only gospel writer who does not mention the Last Supper with his disciples. So, for most (myself included), John 6 functions as John's "Last Supper" or "communion" passage.

Thinking in terms of the Lord's Supper we see that Jesus' statements take on a new and fuller meaning. As we learn to identify with Jesus by "coming to him" and "believing in him" we begin follow through with this identity in how we live. We take on the flesh and blood of Jesus in living out his life on earth now. This is the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood that repulses those literalists in Jesus' day (cf. 6:53-60).

Every Sunday we recommit ourselves to identify with Jesus' death as we take the Lord's Supper. In this act, we receive the bread that truly sustains us. It is the bread of life. It is Jesus' body and blood that we proclaim keeps us going. It is the hope of eternal life right now that sustains the life we live.

Bread of Life 1

Well, here are some of my initial observations on Jesus' statement in John 6. Most of it is going to be text focus, which is where most reflection begins for me anyway.

I notice that the people are drawn to Jesus because they ate bread and were full; the feeding of the five thousand just happened at the beginning of the chapter. They at least recognize that Jesus can provide for them, even though it is physically motivated on banal needs.

Jesus takes advantage of this opportunity to do a little teaching on the true nature of the food that he offers. This is bread that endures to eternal life. He changes their slightly misplaced focus from Moses to God: "...it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father" (6:32). They like the proposal and ask Jesus to not give them something he has already given them (physical bread), but to give them this bread that gives life to the world (6:33-34).

It is at this point that Jesus makes the emphatic statement, "I (not someone or something else) am the bread of life." I can't get past how Jesus says that 'coming to him' (whatever that means) will allay their hunger and 'believing in him' (whatever that means) will assuage their thirst. The presence of Christ in their life will actually take away their hunger and their thirst.

When I really think about this, I want this. To know (and beyond that...to experience) God's presence in such a deep and real way is something for which I passionately long. The only way that I can describe it in words is to be caught up in the Spirit, to be overwhelmed with God's holiness. It forces me to fall down to my knees. I can't help but be taken and shaken, yet firmly established in the hands of the one called 'The Bread of Life.'

Father, continue to help me understand Jesus statement here in John 6. Reveal the depth of this statement to me. It seems a little hidden and I don't understanding it completely. But, I know that you are the revealer of all mysteries. Help open my eyes to this bread from heaven.

I AM

In a conversation with Doug, our Youth Minister at church, I felt compelled to do some meditation on God's word over a period of weeks or months. Because he was taking one of the beatitudes a week on which to meditate I felt like I couldn't just copy him, as good as that would be.

This morning I was reading through Psalm 119. Anyone who does this even halfway awake cannot miss how meditating on God's word is something to be sought after. One particular section (Psalm 119:97-104), which happens to be the 'M' section, really encouraged me to take this meditation that Doug mentioned seriously. "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long."

So, I decided to meditate on Jesus' 'I am' statements in John over the next month or two. I will take one a week to do some meditation and reflection. Be ready to read about my thoughts every now and then on these things. The first one is in John 6 regarding the Bread of Life.