Hello and welcome.
This is the fifth meditation in our sacred journey through the Gospel of John using Lectio Divina,
A slow,
Contemplative reading of Scripture.
Today we hear one of the most nourishing and mysterious teachings of Jesus,
I am the bread of life.
May this time feed your spirit and deepen your trust in the one who gives eternal life.
But first,
Let us begin with prayer.
Giver of life,
We come hungry for some more.
Feed us with the bread that does not perish,
The quiet living presence of your Son.
As we listen,
May your spirit open our hearts to receive what we truly need.
Amen.
A reading from the book of John,
Chapter 6,
Verse 35.
Creator sets free,
Jesus smiled,
Held out his arms to them and said,
I am the breath of life that came down from the spirit world above.
The ones who come to me will hunger no more.
The ones who trust me will thirst no more.
He lowered his arms and with a heavy heart he continued.
But even as I told you before,
You have seen me but you still do not trust me.
The ones my Father has given to me will come to me.
They are a gift from my Father that I will always keep.
I came down from the spirit world above,
From the one who sent me to walk his path,
Not to walk my own.
He wants me to keep safe the ones he has given me and bring them back to life again at the end of all days.
The ones who see who the Son truly is will put their trust and hope in him and they will have the life of the world to come that never fades away.
Yes,
I will bring them back to life again at the end of all days for this is what my Father who sent me wants.
Upon hearing this,
The tribal members complained,
Who is this bread from the spirit world above?
Is this not the son of He Gives Sons,
Joseph?
We know who his mother and father are.
How can he say I came down from the spirit world above?
Stop grumbling to each other,
He answered.
The only ones who come to me have been drawn by my Father.
These are the ones I will bring back to life at the end of all days.
The sacred teachings from the prophets of old tell us there will come a time when the Great Spirit will instruct everyone.
That is why the ones who hear and listen to the Father come to me.
The only one who has seen the Father is the one sent from the Great Spirit.
This one has clearly seen the Father.
I speak truth from my heart.
The ones who trust in me have the life of the world to come that never fades away,
Full of beauty and harmony.
I am the bread that gives life.
Your ancestors ate bread in the desert wilderness and they died.
Here,
Standing before you,
Is the bread that comes down from above.
The ones who eat this bread will not die.
I am the living bread from above.
The ones who eat this bread will live beyond the end of all days.
And this is the bread that I give as a gift to the world,
My human body.
His words caused great division among the tribal members and they began to argue with one another.
How can this be,
They asked?
Will he give us his flesh to eat?
I speak from my heart,
He answered.
The only way to have my life in you is to eat the body of the true human being and drink his blood.
Then the life of the world to come will be yours.
And at the end of all days,
I will bring your body back to life.
My body is true food.
My blood is pure drink.
The ones who eat and drink my body and blood live in me and I live in them.
In the same way the Living Father sent me and gave me his life,
The ones who feed on me will have my life.
The bread from above is not like the bread our ancestors ate and then died.
This bread gives life from the world to come that never fades away,
Full of beauty and harmony.
These are the words he spoke to the people of the gathering house in the village of comfort,
Capernaum.
May you rest in what you have heard and let these words echo through you as you go deeper and listen to this passage in another way.
Creator sets free,
Jesus said,
I am the true bread from above.
Whoever comes to me will never hunger or thirst again.
I did not come to do my own will,
But the will of the Father who sent me.
That none will be lost and all will be raised to life on the last day.
Your ancestors ate manna in the desert and still died.
But I am the living bread from above.
The one who eats this bread will live forever.
This bread is my body given for the life of the world.
The people argued,
How can he give us his body to eat?
And Creator sets free answered,
Unless you eat the body of the true human being and drink his lifeblood,
You will have no life in you.
But whoever does this will have life that never ends.
And I will raise them up.
The one who feeds on me will live because of me.
These words were difficult,
And many found them hard to receive.
What does it mean to be truly nourished?
Can you trust that you are held,
Sustained,
And known even now?
Speak with your heart to the one who gives you life.
You may rest,
You may respond.
You may simply receive in a few moments of silence.
Bread of heaven,
You have fed us with your word.
Help us to remember that we are never far from your care.
May we come to you again and again,
Not with fear but with trust.
And we may share your nourishment with others.
In word,
In action,
In love.
Amen.
This meditation is part of an ongoing series through the Gospel of John.
If this space has offered you peace or insight,
You are warmly invited to join us for the next part of the journey.
Until then,
May you walk in peace and be nourished in the Spirit.
Live like dust,
Lit like fire.
Nicho.
