John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Read John 6:35, 41-51 on biblegateway.com
Verse 35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Verse 41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verse 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Verse 43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. Verse 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. Verse 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Verse 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Verse 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. Verse 48I am the bread of life. Verse 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Verse 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. Verse 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Devotion
Last summer, a group of youth and adults from our congregation traveled to Altiplano, a neighborhood of Tijuana, Mexico. There we met Manuel, Soraida and Victor Alvarez Vadillo. Having saved to buy land, they had nothing left for a home; and so we offered our resources and labor to build a small house for their family.
Each day we stopped and had lunch with the Alvarez Vadillo family. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, since those alone would survive the heat (as one disastrous day of ham and cheese taught us.) The meal was small, but enough.
I wonder what the Alvarez Vadillo family will eat today. Peanut butter and jelly is not living bread from heaven. But a shared meal is a sign of grace and Jesus calls us to give freely of what we have received. Many are hungry and thirsty. What manna might we give?
Prayer
God of hope, you feed all who come to your table. To those who have hunger, give bread to eat; and to those who have bread, give hunger for justice, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.