Church of the Holy City

The True Bread of Life

The True Bread of Life
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
August 11, 2013

Exodus 16:1-15 John 6:35-50 Psalm 34

Several thoughts come to mind from our New Testament reading from this morning. First, there is the reference to Holy Communion. The sacrament is invoked by Jesus’ words, “He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We use these words in this church for our communion service. These words call to mind the line from the beatitudes, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). They also call to mind the words Jesus speaks to the woman at the well. He tells her,
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14).
Second, I think of God’s universal love for the whole human race. I hear this in Jesus’ words, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). What a comforting thought that is. Third, there is the reference to manna. Jesus said, “Your forefathers ate manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die” (John6:49-50). The manna is too large a topic to consider at this time. But along these same lines, Jesus earlier had said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). This is like Jesus saying that manna does not give eternal life but the bread that comes down from heaven a man may eat and not die.
Let’s begin with the first of these three considerations, which is the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Holy Communion is a symbol. It symbolizes the whole process of salvation, for we see salvation as a process. For this church, salvation is a real change in character. It is a change from self-interest to other-interest. It is a change from ego-dominated goals to God-centered goals. This process is contained in the elements of communion: in the bread and wine.
The bread is a symbol of God’s Divine Love. And the wine is a symbol of God’s Divine Wisdom. Eating the bread and drinking the wine symbolizes our accepting of God’s love into our hearts and God’s wisdom into our minds. When we have God’s love in our hearts, and when we practice loving acts wisely, then we have eternal life.
The bread and the wine themselves do not give us eternal life. Indeed, if we do not cultivate a loving and wise disposition, the bread and wine have no meaning. Without a heart and mind seeking God, then the bread and wine are just that food that spoils. It is mere bread and wine. But when we actively seek God’s love and wisdom, then the bread and wine function like a true symbol and we feel God’s presence in the sacrament.
This consideration moves us into our second idea. Jesus promises that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. If we seek God, and what God stands for, we will find God. As we heard in our John passage, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” All who seek God, will find God. And all who come to God, God will accept. Emanuel Swedenborg has a beautiful passage about God’s all-inclusive love:
Jehovah, or the Lord’s internal, was the very Celestial of Love, that is, Love itself, to which no other attributes are fitting than those of pure Love, thus of pure Mercy toward the whole human race; which is such that it wishes to save all and make them happy for ever, and to bestow on them all that it has; thus out of pure mercy to draw all who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to itself, by the strong force of love (AC 1735).
We affirm this inclusive understanding of God every Sunday when we recite the Adoramus. In it, we find the words, “God is present to save all people, everywhere, whose lives affirm the best they know.”
Some use this very passage to assert that God saves only Christians. What a small and narrow God that would be! I think that such a reading emphasizes the letter of the words against the spirit of the words. If Jesus is God, and I believe that He is, He says that He will never drive away any who come to Him. This means that all who come to God will be accepted, whatever name they use for God. As a Christian, I see God as Jesus Christ. But this does not mean that God cannot be called Shiva, or Krishna, or Allah, or Yahweh, or any other name a person uses to invoke the one God.
We have God’s promise that whoever calls on God will not be turned away. This brings us to the miracle of the manna. Manna was bread that fell from heaven like dew. It fed the Israelites when they were in the desert. With all these references to Jesus as the bread from heaven, and the idea that manna came from heaven, it seems clear that we are not dealing with ordinary bread here. No, this is symbolic bread. It is the food that comes from heaven. And what comes from heaven is all the various forms of affection and love that we can express in this world and that will live forever in the next. These forms of love feed our soul and give us spiritual life.
This brings our discussion back to the issue of salvation. I said earlier that salvation for us is a real turning from selfish and ego-driven goals to neighbor and God-centered goals. This turning from earth to heaven takes a lifetime and even continues into the next life. It is not an easy journey. At times it feels like we are wandering in the wilderness. When we give up ways of living that we have become accustomed to–such as a craving for recognition and self-interest–when we give up old ways, we do not know what lies ahead. We may surrender our ego, but what are we left with? In one book I read, the writer compared it to the hole in a doughnut. The writer lamented, “If all is God, won’t I be like the hole in a doughnut?” This isn’t the place to go into the ramifications of God’s Omnipresence–indeed, even a whole sermon couldn’t even touch such a theme. The point is, when we let go of our worldly cravings and our self-interested desires, we don’t know what we are left with. It takes a while for heavenly loves and God-centered thoughts to make sense. So we think of the manna the Israelites lived on. In Hebrew, “manna” means, “What is it?” What is this wondrous food from heaven? So our new life, when we give up our old life is a mystery for a while.
When we begin to replace selfish loves with Godly loves, at first we don’t know how to act or what our emotional life will consist in. When we replace worldly thoughts with heavenly ideas of how to live, at first we don’t know what makes sense. But as we wander through this wilderness of character transformation, we come into the Holy Land. We settle in an emotional land that becomes our spiritual home. We come to recognize spiritual feelings and we think thoughts that are true. As we let God’s love into our hearts, and God’s wisdom into our minds, we feel at home in heavenly life. We may even come to understand the answer to the problem of the doughnut hole.
We have Jesus’ promise that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. We have Jesus’ promise that if we drink the living water He gives, that we will never thirst again. And we have Jesus’ promise that he who comes to Him will never hunger. This promise goes out to all devout believers of every faith.

PRAYER

Lord, you are the true bread that comes down from heaven, which gives eternal life. You have promised us that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. Lord, we humbly ask that you lead us in the paths of righteousness. Guide our steps ever toward you and our heavenly home. You have said that you will not turn away anyone who seeks you. Lord, we seek you with all our hearts. Accept our heartfelt will to follow you. Lord, accept our meditation and effort to come to you. And, Lord, lead us forever into your kingdom for righteousness sake.

And Lord, we pray that you bring peace to this troubled world. May those who harbor ill will for their neighbors learn to understand and see the fellow humanity that they share. May those who strive against each other see that they are like in their wishes and in what they want for their land and nation. And may warring factions find their way to peace.

Lord, we ask for you to heal those who are sick. As you worked miracles of healing when you were on earth, how much more can you work healing miracles now that you have risen and have all authority in heaven and on earth. Grant all who are in need your healing love and power.

10-Week On-Line Course in Paul taught by Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
September 30-December 8: Tuition only $55!

The Apostle Paul isn’t all that bad! In fact, he’s fantastic! Some of the things he says you wouldn’t believe. I think Swedenborgians are prejudiced against Paul. I was. But with an open mind, we will find Paul’s letters inspiring, beautiful, and in places quite in accord with Swedenborg. This 10-week course is a topical survey of Paul’s letters in the light of Swedenborg’s theology, as Protestant Christianity sees him, and as we find him in the letters themselves. For more information, or to enroll, please email Rev. Dr. Fekete at: revdrfekete@gmail.com. Deadline for enrollment is September 25. The course is limited to 15 students.