Gnawing on a hard week

What a week it has been, overseas and here. Covid has sniffed the edges and kept us a little anxious for a while. And now she is back in our midst, reshaping our lives once again. For now, we hunker down, wear our masks, wash our hands, stay safe, and wait.

For the last five Sundays we have circled around Jesus “the bread of life”.  It began on a Passover with Jesus feeding the 5000 in an outrageous act of uncalled for generosity. This whole section is set at Passover – the foundational celebration of God’s liberation of these once slaves – with the hope of liberation from all current oppressors with the ultimate hope of liberation for all people and all creation.

We have slowly walked from there to this week’s reading, circling around and reworking this story of feeding so many and God’s feeding mana in the desert. It culminates with “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats (gnaws at) this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”(vs 51). Following Jesus can be hard work. Ask those first disciples. Many of them gave up. Ask those first readers of John’s gospel. Persecutions, martyrdoms, ostracism, splits in the community. Many of them gave up too. Was this Jesus really worth all the bother?

And here we are, today’s disciples, asking the same question. What does all this mean for us in the midst of Covid uncertainty and all that is happening around the world. To be a disciple is first and foremost to serve God and our neighbour. How are we being invited to serve God by looking after each other and those in need at this time? How are we being sustained and fed by the living bread that comes down from heaven in all that is happening around us and for us?