Reference – Gospel reading for Aug. 11
There are three parts to this reading:
The Gospel starts (part one) with a repeat of the last sentence from Aug 4, the first week of three in the “Bread of Life Discourse.” Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” So there is a sense of continuity, The third part is the lead in for Week 3 on Aug 18.
The second part is the heart of the reading. In part one, those who listened responded. “They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” A key word in this section is “complain.” Now he gets complaints from the “Jews” when he asserts “I am the bread of life” The Jews may indicate a subset of the crowd or it may tie back to those who crucified him.
Those who complain only know him as the carpenter’s son and the mother and father whom they know. So how can he assert “I am the bread who came down from heaven”? He should be talking about carpentry!
Jesus moves the conversation forward by saying “Do not complain among yourselves.”
Jesus talks not about the physical, a loaf of bread, but about resurrection. Two statements in this section consider the resurrection
1” No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day”
2” Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.” We can’t see God but we can believe which is the prerequisite for eternal life
The second key word is “drawn.” From the site “Street Psalms” “It is a gentle word referring to how God deals with those who grumble. God draws them. Finally, this drawing is contrasted with the word “drive,” found in verse 37. “Anyone who comes to me, I will never ‘drive’ away.”
“Jesus wants his grumbling guests to celebrate the wide open table that God sets — a table that does not exclude anyone. Ironically, this table is hosted by the one who will soon be driven out. It is the driven-out-one who gently draws the complainers back to the table that excluded him, nourishing and sustaining them with his very life. This is the meal he offers.” (Street Psalms)
Like physical bread which requires a transformation from the bread and yeast, accepting Jesus is also a process but one that will yield rewards long after the physical bread is gone.
Jesus repeats a part of the phrase “I am the bread of life” to provide a context for his new teachings. Jesus contrasts the bread of life with their ancestors who ate manna when hungry but they eventually died. Jesus talks about eternal life in this passage.
This last sentence is the jumping off for week 3 of the “Bread of Life” discourse”. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The flesh issue is key to week 3.