The Contemplative Companion for Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” – John 6.30 – 35

Notice how the question reveals the human concern: what can you DO? 

Jesus responds not with what can or can’t be done but by what BE – I am the bread of life.

The concept of “bread of life” is more than an analogy. And certainly more than a spiritual motif. It is a declaration about the existence of influences in and on our planet and our life – and how this particular influence of “bread” can transform us into itself.

Influences range in quality and purpose. There are influences of the daily news. Influences of entertainment. Influences of polyphonic chamber music. Influences of sacred scriptures. Influences of a teacher’s of deep wisdom and spiritual presence. Influences of a walk in the woods. Influences of a puppy’s love. Influences are all around us – they are the human “food of impressions”, and they shape our lives: body and being, heart and mind.

In order to bring out the spiritual invitation of Jesus’ teaching, I like to translate the meaning of the last verse this way:

The Way I Am, is available to you right now. When you partake and participate in this Way you will be completely fulfilled in your Being, and your Being will infuse all your doing. You and your life will never be the same.

This Way that is available to you right now through my Way-Showing  will be an ongoing happening in you as more of your self is consumed by Divine Love – and in its place arises the mystery of Christ, which is what the bread is: the deepening and expanding union of your life with the divine Life. The bread of Life isn’t just to feed and satisfy you spiritually, it is to transform you into “bread” and so become a living witness yourself.

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