Bread of Life

 Food has always held a place of honor in my family, for better or for worse. When we go on trips, where and what we eat is half the fun. When we talk about where we went and what we did, we describe in detail what we ate. I realize this isn’t everyone’s love language, but it certainly is one of ours. I’ve rarely gone so far as to take pictures of my meal and post it online, but I know people who do, and so I know I am in good company.

I have a lot of favorite foods, it’s hard to focus in on just one thing. Near the top, however, would have to be breads of any kind. Several years ago when we stayed in Frankfort, Germany, the hotel had a marvelous breakfast buffet. My favorite section was the huge selection of breads – savory and sweet. I went to that area first every morning. Who cares about protein when you can have carbs? Especially carbs in the form of breads. So when I share our Germany adventures, you know that table of breads figures high in my memories.

Bread has been such a staple through history that the word “bread” came to stand for sustenance. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, God provided for their every need, including bread. Everyday God’s special bread, manna, would appear, and the people had enough for the entire day. Of course, they began complaining about the sameness of that provision, and God added quail to their diet, so much they almost suffocated in quail.

Jesus referred to Himself as “the bread of life”.  This statement came about following an amazing event involving bread. John 6 tells how Jesus had been speaking to a large crowd. He noted they’d all been there for some time and He instructed the disciples to find food for them. “How on earth are we going to do that? It would cost more money than we have to find food for all these people.” They were not thinking about all of the great things they’d seen Jesus do; they saw what they lacked.

 Jesus asked, “What do you have?” “Well, a boy gave us his five loaves and two fish.” I’m pretty sure they said this to prove their point that there wasn’t anywhere near the amount they needed to satisfy this large crowd. But Jesus took that little bit of food, blessed it and began handing it out to his disciples to give to the crowd. And the food just kept on coming. When everyone in that crowd had been fed there were 12 baskets left over! One for each of the skeptical disciples.

One time we were meeting up with my youngest sister to celebrate her birthday. We’d stopped by a local barbecue restaurant and picked up food for our sibling and spouses group. When we arrived at her place there were at least 6 other people we hadn’t known would be there. We hurriedly told our husbands to go last and began to share the food with everyone else. People dove right in, loading up their plates. They were not worried about going away hungry, but our spouses were. Amazingly, by the time they’d all been served, there was enough for the original group to each have some. It wasn’t feeding 5,000, but having enough food for 13 out of an original plan for 7 was still pretty amazing. I can only imagine what the disciples were feeling as they passed the food among their crowd. And in case they were worried they wouldn’t get fed – there were 12 full baskets left over.

Following this part of John 6, Jesus went away to pray and the disciples took off in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus appears to them, walking on the water, and calms the storm. The other gospels speak of their fear, of the storm and the apparition on the water. He’d just fed all those people, but this is a storm. Their faith was still small. And Jesus calms the storm as well. He can turn a handful of loaves and fish into food for thousands. He can speak and calm a storm. What’s not to believe? Upon return, there is an even bigger crowd. Jesus points out they are there primarily because they’d heard about the bread he’d fed the earlier group. They were not seeking him as much as seeking a miracle, or at least a free meal. They ask Jesus for a sign (because feeding 5000 people with a few loaves and fish wasn’t sign enough, but maybe they hadn’t seen for themselves) Someone points out that “Moses gave the people bread.” Jesus corrects them saying “not Moses, God gave, and God gives the true bread.”  Following this, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” He is calling Himself the “true” bread.

Later in the chapter, the religious leaders take issue on Jesus’ declared relationship with God and challenge Him. Jesus elaborates on the bread of life, stating that “whoever eats this bread will have eternal life.” Then things digress into the leaders wondering if Jesus was actually offering his body to be eaten. They sought all the more to get rid of him.

What did Jesus mean, His being the “Bread of Life?” If bread is a metaphor for life’s sustenance, then Jesus is saying He is the ultimate sustainer for our life’s needs. Our physical life needs food to live, and so does our spiritual life. In addition to God’s provision of physical sustenance (for which Jesus said to include in our daily prayers, “give us this day our daily bread”), Jesus is the spiritual food we need for the life God intends.

We are told to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Jesus can satisfy our spiritual hunger. He offers a buffet table of spiritual foods for us to indulge on, if only we go to Him for our spiritual sustenance.

Jesus spoke of His “bread” or food - what “fed” Him - as doing the will of the Father. (John 14:34) That’s a good example of spiritual nourishment, which comes by actively seeking to do God’s will, much as the Israelites went out each day and collected their manna. Spending time in God’s Word also feeds us spiritually. The more experiences the disciples had with Jesus the more their faith grew. The same is true for us. This begins with getting to know God through reading His Word and spending time with Him each day. Food is important in keeping us alive. Most of us eat way more than we need for basic survival, but we all need “daily bread”. So it is with spiritual food. We all need daily time with the Bread of Life.

It all begins with putting our faith in The Bread of Life. John 6 shows us that belief in Jesus isn't a given, even with Him there in the flesh, working amazing miracles like feeding the crowd. So if belief was difficult with Jesus right there in their midst, it is a whole lot more difficult for many to believe today. But that is where it starts, believing that the only food that counts is The Bread of Life, and putting our trust in Him. Only He gives us life, and life eternal. (See John 3)

Jesus is the Light of the World. He is also the Bread of Life. He shows us the way and gives us the strength to walk in it. He is our Light and Life, what we desperately need in our troubled world.

 

Sun in Seattle - Walking in the Light

We have been experiencing a run of sunny days here in Seattle. We experience this as a treat in the middle of what we usually experience as dark, gray days. Contrary to the stereotype, it doesn’t always rain in Seattle, but it can be overcast and cloudy for days on end, especially during the winter months. And since we have shorter days, living up north, it can make living here during the winter incredibly depressing. But give us one, clear day and we can kind of grow crazy, with convertible roofs down and coatless, short wearing natives running around. Seeing Seattle through the sun-filled eyes of sportscasters during the football playoffs, we are the most beautiful place on earth. Just ask us, we believe that to be true.

Here, sun and light, especially in winter, bring unspeakable joy. I think it’s because we do not take such days for granted; they are a gift. Seasonal Affective Disorder is part of living in the Pacific Northwest. We can feel pressed down by short, dark days. But one day of sun and we can feel uplifted, energized.

No wonder light and dark have come to represent good and evil. No wonder the Bible tells us to walk in the light rather than the darkness.  In the physical world very few people would choose to walk in darkness, without the help of any light. In the spiritual world many of us choose darkness over light, somehow believing we are freer in the darkness. But just as in the physical world, spiritual darkness can quickly trip us up, and we discover we are not so free to move about.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the world views Jesus. There are so many conflicting images of Him. All the conflict is designed to blind people from who Jesus really is. The book of John was written to give us a clear picture of Jesus, right from the start.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and was God.”  John, the author is talking about the coming of Jesus. He uses the metaphor “word” and mirrors the first words of Genesis “In the beginning God created.” God spoke and all things became. God’s Word is power, and is synonymous with God Himself. So John sets up his book by letting us know The Word was there at the beginning, and the Word was God. “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:3-5) The Word is Jesus. John leaves little doubt that Jesus is God.

In addition to Jesus being the Word, John also say Jesus is the Light. “The True Light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). But, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.” To those who did see Jesus for who He truly was, “He gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12)

Throughout the Gospel of John we see the metaphor of light given to Jesus. Following the famous John 3:16 passage about God sending His Son to give us eternal life, John continues with “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” (John 3:19-21) God loved the entire world. He sent Jesus to die in the place of every human. God loved so much, He gave His Son, so all who believed could have eternal life. But, many chose darkness instead of Light.

John quotes Jesus as saying “As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4,5) Jesus also told his followers, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light so that you may become children of the light.” (John 12:35, 36)

John continues his use of the light metaphor in his book titled I John. “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (I John 1:5-7)

In the physical world most of us love light. We bask in the sun, even if the temperature is freezing. And given a rise in temperature we can’t get enough of the sun. But the sunlight streaming through my window right now is uncovering the dust on my table and chairs, and the filth on my widows totally stands out. Light reveals imperfections, dirt, things we thought were covered up. Try to find that missing sock in the dark, but turn on the light and there it is. Light points out what the darkness covers.

So it is in the spiritual world. We think choosing the dark covers up who we truly are. We have no desire to be seen in the light. However, we might be able to hide our true, dusty self from each other, but not from God. God can cut through the darkness and see all. He is Light. And that truth can be scary, unless we understand that Jesus enabled a way for us to approach that Light without fear. Jesus took on the world’s sin, making way for relationship with The Light. We can stand in that Light and know, having accepted Jesus’ gift, we are safe, considered members of the family, children of God.

Today I am basking in the winter sun. I am also basking in the light of the Son, thankful for His sacrifice in my place, so today I can walk in the Light. Are you enjoying the Light?

Living in the New Year

What a start to 2026. The news is loud with traumatic events. Though a new year promises a clean slate, so far this year seems a repeat of the year before. Even though we are being told violence is down, the photo and audio evidence would beg to differ. Both sides of the political world hurl violent words at each other, name calling and angry words that arouse anger in their followers. That anger shows itself in violent action. We have a federal officer shooting a woman in her car, and protesters of that action jumping on other cars, breaking windows and threatening other officers not involved in that shooting. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It only increases the violent reactions, such as tear gassing, throwing down and arresting peaceful protesters. And that over just one incident of violence in our country. On top of all that our current administration's promise of military action against sovereign nations doesn’t help to calm anyone.

So what do we do in the face of all this? What should I do? When I talk with my friends I hear and see a dark cloud of anger and depression settling down upon us. I can feel anxiety and fear in them, and it fans the flames of my own. We were out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant last night, and I sat there wondering about the safety of the staff and Spanish speaking guests that surrounded me. I’ve talked with legal immigrants, naturalized citizens, who fear for their safety. In this type of insanity I find it hard to find anything positive.

In my pastor’s sermon yesterday he spoke on Philippians 4 “be anxious for nothing” passage. He doesn’t believe anxiety is a sin; it’s a pretty normal reaction to life. He does believe it’s a sign. When we are anxious we should see the red flag. In the words just prior to “be anxious for nothing” we read “the Lord is near.”  God is with us, beside us, walking through this mess of life. He is the Creator of the Universe. He never loses control of what He’s created. Our anxiety springs out of feeling life has gone amok. We feel out of control because we are, and we were never meant to be in control.  God has control, even over the crazy mess our country finds itself in today. When I feel anxious, I need to ask “what can I do about it?”  Most times the answer is little or nothing. God, on the other hand, can do everything. Why not do what we can do and trust Him with the rest?

I’ve been reading through the Psalms again. This read-through I am keeping track of some key words that play into remembering Who God is and that He has not lost control. The psalmists refer to God as our Rock, Strength, Shield, Fortress, Refugee, Deliverer, Stronghold, Salvation and Help. These titles are mentioned again and again in the Psalms. When I am anxious about my life, my world, to whom should I turn? Myself? Or my Rock?

As we face the uncertainties of the new year, I encourage you to read some Psalms. Many of them begin with the writer calling out to God, feeling unheard and alone. Then, in the middle of the psalm, the writer begins counting their blessings (or remembering God’s work in times past). God has at times intervened and changed the circumstances for the psalmist, but in other times has just held the writer until the circumstances passed. In all situations, God was faithful.

Psalms 9:7 “The Lord reigns forever, he has established his throne for judgment.”

But sometimes it doesn’t feel like God is in control. Psalms 10:2-6 “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God….He says to himself, ‘nothing will ever shake me.’ He swears, ‘no one will ever do me harm.’

Then the Psalmist turns from the wicked seeming to always win, and focuses again on God (Psalms 10:14, 17-18) “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless…You Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”

There is the key, this is what our anxiety and pent up emotions should remind us of – what troubles us comes from “mere earthly mortals” – human beings. We have the Creator of the Universe by our side. Can we trust Him with our life and our world? Can we trust that He knows what is going on with our current circumstances – both personal and as citizens? Can we count on His faithfulness even when the circumstances don’t change like we’d like them to?

The next phrase in Philippians 4 after “be anxious for nothing” tells us to pray for everything. Prayer is one thing we can do. We can pray for our country, our neighbors, our family, ourselves. And we are told that from our prayers God will deliver His peace, taking care of our anxiety by reminding us He is here, with us, holding us in the midst of the storm.

“The Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.” (Psalms 6:8b, 9)

I can’t do a lot to stem the tide of all that happens around me. I can pray. I can show kindness and care to the weary people around me. I can, like the Psalmists, remind myself and others that God is right here with us. He has not lost control. He may not work the circumstances the way I might like to see, but I can trust that whatever He chooses to do will be just and fair. God is faithful. He is beside us, near. Let our anxiety warn us that we are not in control, He is. Let us pray for our leaders, our country, the oppressed and downtrodden, the grieving and the sick. Let us live our lives as God would have us live- following in Jesus' steps.

Standing up to the Bullies

We began 2026 with the taking of the Venezuelan President in an apparent invasion of that country by our own. Happy New Year. The justification for these actions seems pretty weak. Maybe the reason is just to show we can. An appearance of strength and power. We’ve been here before, interfering in other countries’ sovereignty. Vietnam comes to mind. That didn’t work out so well. Neither did the more recent involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Under the guise of helping, we’ve ended up doing more harm than good and leaving a mess in our wake when we sail away. And here we are again.

This conflict is supposedly over drugs, fentanyl in particular. Yet some dispute that the fentanyl that pours into our country even comes from Venezuela. Who knows? What are we to think? This just adds another layer to our current administration’s bullying behavior. Bullies never make me think strength. The bullies I have known and experienced had been bullied themselves and rather than confronting and stopping the behavior, went on to perpetuate it on someone else. Bullies are normally weak, not strong. They bully to look something they are not.

Most recently our country has been bullying a lot of weaker people: immigrants, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, apparently anyone who isn’t in the bully's club. It all feels like a middle school playground run amok, including the rhetoric to defend the behavior.

All the while too many American Christians have been staying on the bandwagon, supporting the bullies like the want-to-be followers on the playground. By their actions or support, or lack of any voice of disproval, they appear to be in one voice with the bullies. The bullies helped them take down some bad things and so now they support the bullies no matter how indefensible their behavior.

Unfortunately for them, there is no biblical footing for their support. Christ never said we are to love some people. He said we were to love all. He never said we are to bully or take revenge. He says vengeance is His to take, not ours. Our job is not to police the unbelieving world nor turn our back on it. We are told to go into the world and represent Jesus. We are to be His hands and feet to spread the good news that our sins have been forgiven, we are loved by God and can experience eternal life. That Good News was to go out to everyone, not just the people we deem worthy.

And how do we gain the right to share the Good News with people we obviously hate, or wish to see removed from our country? How do we gain the right to speak of Jesus Christ to people we feel don’t deserve our charity? Well, as representatives of Jesus Christ, we are to behave like Him. That means we are to rely on God for the power to behave in ways that do not come naturally. It isn’t natural to love our neighbors, let alone our enemies. But God promises to give us the ability to do so. In following Jesus’ example we need to look at what He did. He ran with those outcast by the political and religious leaders. He talked to women. He touched and healed lepers. He ate meals with those deemed unworthy sinners. He drew huge crowds and didn’t discriminate over sex, color, economic status or citizenship. He fed them all.

On the other hand, too many American Christians act like only a certain group is worthy to join their club. For many if you are not white, straight, even male you don’t really belong. That is not following Jesus’ example in any shape or form. There is nothing in Jesus’ words that support that behavior.

It’s more than time for Christians to separate themselves from the bullies, and stand up to truth and mercy. It’s time for the Church to condemn behavior that doesn’t lift up God and support justice, kindness and grace.

 In Psalms 82, God speaks, “how long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

I believe He is still asking this of us today.