Communing with the Bread of Life

by Stephen Portner

Scripture - John 6:51-58

The small group was gathered together in one room in the church. It took a lot of courage to be there yet each member of the small group realized that they needed each other. They needed this time set aside every week to give them renewed strength, renewed hope, and a reminder that they were not facing their problems alone. This was more than a small group of people; this was a community. One man stands up and says, "Hi, I'm Rocky, and I'm an alcoholic." "Hi, Rocky," the rest of the group responds and Rocky is reassured that he is among friends, among people who really understand.

Perhaps you know of Rocky. His photograph was in the newspaper a little over a week ago. The tomato plant that was growing in his garden is yielding more tomatoes than ever before. Rocky has had to take special care of that tomato plant because he realizes the health of the tomatoes depend on the health of the vine. Rocky's tomato plant was so unusual that it made the papers. Rocky knows that his own life is as fragile as that tomato plant. He knows that his life will not be a healthy one unless he nurtures the vine in his life, his relationship to his Lord and his God. The other alcoholics in the small group are other branches of that same vine. They rely on each other and know they need to nurture one another if they are all to remain healthy.

One night after the AA meeting held in our church, Rocky was standing outside the door talking to some others from his small group. I congratulated Rocky on being a newspaper celebrity. He smiled and gave me a hug. And he told me a bit of his story. Rocky was supposed to have died twenty years ago. He had been drinking three fifths of whiskey and two six packs of beer a day. He had cirrhosis of the liver so bad that he had a huge bulge coming out of his side and large lumps on his elbows. His family had been told that he would not live the night. Through a miracle Rocky was able to survive. He said that he has not touched a drop of alcohol since.

When Rocky returned home, he had to be introduced to his five children. He did not remember them being born or even living all those years under the same household with them. Rocky said that the years he had spent in a stupor were nothing but a blur for him. What he does remember comes back in flashes, and many of those memories are ones of which he is ashamed. He remembers striking his wife. He remembers tearing the phone off the wall when his wife was talking on it, because he was too impatient for her to make him something to eat. He says now that that wasn't him. Not the real Rocky anyway. I can testify that he really is a nice guy now. He told me that all the time he spent drunk was like his life was lived by another person. Once he swore off alcohol, it was as though he was born again. He gives the credit to God. Rocky is Roman Catholic and has not missed a week of worship in twenty years. He has also not missed an AA meeting in twenty years, seven nights a week. He knows, that as strong as he is now in his determination, that the temptation never really goes away. He needs other people just as much as they need him. When others stand up in the small group and say they cannot see how there is any hope for them, Rocky stands up and reminds them that it can be done. "Look at me," he tells them with all humility, "I was once dead, but now I am alive."

As I was talking with Rocky, I shared with him how great it was that he was doing so well and that he had someplace to share with others, receiving support and encouragement. "You know," I said to Rocky, "all of us have our vulnerabilities. All of us have at least one thing that is a particular weakness of ours. You AA guys realize your problem is alcoholism and you have a small group in which to work out some of your problems. All of us have addictions that are just as bad. Yet, in most cases, many of us addicts have no support groups. There needs to be Pornographers Anonymous, Liars Anonymous, and Websurfers Anonymous groups, to name a few. There are many addictions out there. There are all kinds of things that separate us from a relationship with our God. Yet, we would probably deny we have a problem and, so, would not go to a support group anyway."

That's when it dawned on me that, if we were being honest, church can be seen as a kind of support group. Ideally, we would feel comfortable in a small group, where we could stand up and state, "Hi, I'm so and so, and I'm a sinner." We would all nod our heads with understanding and say, "Hi, so and so. We are sinners too." All of us have our addictions. All of us, at times, attach ourselves to something or someone that we think is more important than God. When we gather together in community, in the name of Jesus Christ, our addictions will more likely be held under control. Our bent to sinning remains, but it will not reign.

We are not as strong in spirit individually as we are collectively. We realize that when we are not part of the community, our chances of falling off the wagon and getting trapped in the downward spiral of addiction become greater. And the more we stay away from community, the more likely our downfall will be. Then, in our guilt, we find that becoming part of the community again becomes a hurdle we are not sure we want to take. People will point out that they have not seen us in a while and start asking questions. "Where have you been?" "What have you been doing?" And coming face to face with the knowledge that we are being controlled by our addictions becomes ever more difficult to do.

You see, our addictions are whatever we attach ourselves to, whatever we set as a priority over being solely attached to God, with a big "G." When we attach ourselves to something, like alcohol, that becomes our little "g" god. Our addictions will rule over us. It gets to the point where we no longer have the choice. Our addictions eventually possess us. We set other things aside in order to be sure to spend time devoted to our addiction. After a while, our family doesn't matter, our home and job doesn't matter, even our personal health doesn't matter, as long as we have the thing for which we cannot live without. Another word for these addictions is sin. "The cycle of sin, always begins within," sang some of our children in the Summer Cooperative Music Ministry. And they are right. The cycle of sin begins with assuring yourself that it's OK to give in to sin - "It's just a little bit. Who's going to know? Who's going to care? It's my life anyway!" Don't kid yourself. What starts with just a "little" sin will eventually lead to destruction, if you do nothing to prevent your addiction from growing bigger and bigger. And, as all the AA people will attest, you do not have the power to prevent the addiction from taking over all by yourself. You must call upon the "Higher Power" who is God, with a big "G."

So, think about it, what is it that is controlling your life? What is it that you cannot live without? If it is anything but Jesus, then you have an unhealthy addiction. Your natural inclination is to want to be attached to someone or some thing. Jesus wants you to attach your self to him. Jesus wants to be the one you cannot live without. Jesus wants to be the one with whom you have a relationship, the one with whom you are attached.

Another word for this kind of attachment is communion. Jesus was talking about communion, holy communion, with him when he referred to himself as the Bread of Life. Jesus said, "I 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" (John 6:51). Jesus gives us his flesh; that is, he allowed his body to be broken so that we might be saved from our sins. We are powerless to break ourselves from our sins, our addictions, so Jesus broke the power of sin with the brokenness of his own body.

Of course, at the time Jesus told his listeners about eating his flesh, they did not understand. They understandably thought Jesus was talking about cannibalism. That was repulsive to think about. And drinking blood was strictly forbidden, even of the animals the Jews sacrificed to God (Deut. 15:23). So, when Jesus told them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you," they were abhorred. Yet Jesus was not talking about physically eating his flesh; he was speaking spiritually. What Jesus was speaking about was much like the communion we share with one another. When the bread is lifted up, we say, "This is the body of Christ broken for you. Take and eat in remembrance of him." And when the cup is lifted up, we say, "This is the blood of Christ shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Take and drink in remembrance of him."

When we eat Jesus' body and drink his blood, we are in communion with Jesus and with one another. We are one in Jesus. He abides in us and we abide in him (John 6:56). Likewise, we abide in one another as the body of Christ, the church. When we abide with one another, our relationship is at its most intimate. It is more than sitting alongside one another. It means our whole life is so intermingled with the one in whom we abide, our relationship cannot be broken. If the relationship is broken apart, then there is no life.

Allow me to use an illustration, although be it an imperfect one. Our twins have a special relationship. Since they are identical twins they are similar in many ways, especially in appearance. Yet they do have different personalities and can go their separate ways. They enjoy being in the same room together, but the day will come when they will need to live separate lives. They live together, but they do not abide in one another. Now, compare that image to Siamese twins who are joined together at birth. Depending on how many bodily functions they share, they may or may not be able to be surgically separated. If they can be separated and still have the vital organs they need for life, then it can be done. But if they share vital organs, then they will need to abide with one another their whole lives long. To separate them would mean death to one of them, or perhaps both of them. Our relationship with Jesus, once it has reached the point of communing with Jesus, is more like that of the Siamese twins. When we abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in us, we are as one. Separation from Jesus would mean death for us. Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. …Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me" (John 6:53, 57).

Communing with Jesus, the Living Bread, is another step in our relationship with him. We had heard that Jesus wants us to believe in him; that is, to have an ongoing and continuous relationship with him. But, as we grow in our relationship, we realize more of what the extent of that relationship means. Having a relationship with Jesus isn't something we can do on a trial basis. When we enter a relationship with Jesus, that relationship lasts for all eternity. A relationship with Jesus is a commitment that some people will be unwilling to make once they realize what is involved. Yet, Jesus' promises are true. Those who build a relationship with him, those who commune with him by eating his flesh and drinking his blood, will find life because of him. The one who eats of the Bread of Life will live forever (John 6:58).

(Comments to Steve at sgportner1@aol.com )
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