“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jo. 6:35).
Our Gospel reading this morning sounds like a lot of other things that Jesus says in the Gospel of John about himself. “I am the light of the world” (Jo. 9:5), he says in the ninth chapter; “I am the good shepherd” (Jo. 10:11), in the tenth; “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jo. 11:25), in chapter eleven; and “I am the true vine” (Jo. 15:1), in chapter fifteen. There are a number of others. “I am the bread of life” (Jo. 6:35) comes first of all, early on, in the sixth chapter, but it’s part of this larger pattern, where Jesus describes himself in terms of open-ended metaphors that define him but don’t confine him.
Compare this with Jesus after his arrest, when he stands before Pontius Pilate for questioning. “Are you the King of the Jews?” (Jo. 18:33), Pilate asks him. Jesus replies, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and this I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (Jo. 18:37). Notice that Jesus refuses to be boxed in by the terms of Pilate’s question. Not, “I am a king,” but “You say that I am a king.” It’s different from the great series of “I am” statements that mark the Gospel. Jesus knows that this question will not define him but will only confine him, in terms of Pilate’s equation of Jesus as a revolutionary leader against Roman authority. No, Jesus is more than this: he is the bread of life, and so much more as well.
When Jesus calls himself “the bread of life,” he’s conjuring with the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness. The people were traveling to freedom, with no time to plant or to reap. They were fleeing from slavery, and headed to the promised land. They had to rely on God to provide. The crowd tells Jesus, “Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (Jo. 6:31).
Just a few verses ago, Jesus has already provided his own miraculous feeding, turning five barley loaves and two fish into a meal for five thousand people (as we heard last week). The crowd didn’t have enough to feed themselves but Jesus is able to provide. Now he tells them that it isn’t the barley loaves and the fish that they are seeking, the earthly food, but rather “the food that endures to eternal life” (Jo. 6:27). It’s in this context that Jesus tells them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jo. 6:35).
With Jesus, we have everything that we need to sustain our lives. It’s tempting to fix on the five meager loaves and the two small fish. Like Andrew says in last week’s Gospel, “What are they among so many people?” (Jo. 6:9). When we contemplate our own resources we recognize our own inadequacy. But those who come to Jesus will never be hungry, and those who believe in him will never be thirsty. God has already given everything we need, to leave slavery behind us, and head to freedom. Drawing close to Jesus in relationship, in sacrament and prayer and works of mercy, will provide the way forward.
Just as Jesus defines himself as light, and truth, and life, so we need to understand who we are. Notice that as Jesus in our Gospel says he is the bread from heaven, he also calls upon us for a response. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jo. 6:35). We’re the ones who have to come and believe. “Whoever,” as Jesus uses it here, is broad and undefined, because Jesus’ invitation is no holds barred; as open and extensive as he is.
Jesus’ invitation needs a response. “Whoever” can be a lot like “whatever”: the sort of slacker response to a question we’re not really interested in. “Whoever, whatever, I couldn’t care less.” For us, the “whoever” must turn into actual people who come to Jesus and believe in him; the “whoever” of Jesus’ invitation must become disciples who practice prayer and works of mercy and who draw near to Jesus himself.
Jesus invites us to be his followers. Elsewhere in John’s Gospel he tells us that we did not choose him but he chose us (Jo. 15:16). That means he’s chosen each one of us, here at St. Bede’s this morning, to be his disciples. Jesus has provided everything we need for the journey with him. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (Jo. 6:35). “Whatever” or “whoever” just won’t cut it! We’re the ones who must respond to his invitation to come and believe in him.