Real Bread: John 6: 51-58
Summary
TLDRThe script explores the universal significance of bread across cultures, from Indian naan to German pretzels, illustrating its role as a staple and symbol of life. It delves into the theological concept of incarnation, using the metaphor of bread to explain Jesus' declaration of being the 'bread of life'. The sermon emphasizes the transformative power of consuming Jesus' teachings, urging believers to embody Christ-like qualities in their daily lives, highlighting the abundance and inclusivity of spiritual nourishment available to all.
Takeaways
- 🍞 Bread is a staple food in many cultures and is enjoyed in various forms, such as naan in India, pretzels in Germany, and puff puff in Cameroon.
- 🧈 Naan is an oven-baked flatbread in India, often enjoyed with butter, ghee, or garlic-flavored hummus.
- 🌾 Roti is an unleavened version of naan, widespread in India and popular in the Caribbean.
- 🥨 German pretzels are soft dough twisted into various shapes, often enjoyed with spicy mustard.
- 🧀 Brazilian cheese bread is gluten-free, made with tapioca flour, milk, eggs, olive oil, and cheese.
- 🇮🇪 Irish soda bread is made with baking soda instead of yeast due to the low gluten content in Irish flour.
- 🍞 French Canadian 'pain de mie' (soft white bread) is ideal for soaking up gravy and other dishes.
- 🍇 The sermon emphasizes the metaphorical significance of bread in various cultures and its relation to spiritual nourishment.
- 🕊 The concept of 'incarnation' is central to the script, referring to the belief that God became human in Jesus Christ.
- 🍇 Jesus' declaration about being the 'bread of life' is a metaphor for spiritual nourishment and eternal life, not to be taken literally.
- 🔄 The sermon encourages believers to 'consume' Jesus in their lives, becoming more like Christ and partaking in the divine life.
- 🙏 The variety of breads mentioned serves as a powerful symbol of God's intention to nourish and provide for all people, regardless of their background.
Q & A
What is the significance of bread in different cultures as mentioned in the script?
-Bread is a staple food in many cultures and has unique forms and ways of preparation. In India, 'naan' is an oven-baked flatbread enjoyed with various spreads. In Germany, 'pretzels' are soft dough twisted into shapes and often enjoyed with spicy mustard. In Brazil, there's a gluten-free cheese bread made with tapioca flour, while in Ireland, a bread made with baking soda due to the low gluten content of Irish flour was common. In Nigeria, Congo, and Cameroon, 'puff puff' is a fried dough that is sweet and delightful.
What is the script's reference to 'roti' and its cultural significance?
-The script mentions 'roti' as an unleavened version of naan, which is a flatbread eaten everywhere in India. It has also found its way into the hearts and stomachs of those in the Caribbean, indicating its spread and adaptation in different cultures.
What does the script suggest about the difficulty of resisting fresh, hot bread?
-The script suggests that fresh, hot bread is irresistible, implying that it's hard to avoid eating it. It humorously notes that what doesn't end up in one's stomach from such bread might end up on one's hips, indicating its tempting nature.
What theological concept is central to the script's discussion on Jesus' declaration about bread and blood?
-The central theological concept discussed in the script is 'incarnation', which refers to the belief that the eternal and infinite God became human in the form of Jesus Christ, who lived on earth.
How does the script interpret Jesus' statement 'my flesh is true bread'?
-The script interprets Jesus' statement metaphorically rather than literally, suggesting that Jesus is referring to spiritual nourishment rather than cannibalism. It emphasizes that Jesus' 'flesh' represents a deeper, spiritual truth and relationship with God.
What does the script imply about the relationship between eating bread and spiritual growth?
-The script implies that eating bread, in a spiritual sense, represents consuming and being nourished by the teachings and presence of Jesus. It suggests that by 'eating' Jesus, individuals can grow in their faith and become more like Christ.
What is the script's stance on the different theological positions regarding the Eucharist?
-The script acknowledges the diversity of theological positions on the Eucharist, whether it's the belief in the spiritual presence of Christ in the bread and wine, the transubstantiation, or simply the act of remembrance and obedience to God's command. It emphasizes that regardless of one's position, the bread represents God's intention to nourish and empower believers.
How does the script connect the idea of 'you are what you eat' to the Christian faith?
-The script connects the idea by suggesting that if Christians 'eat' or embrace Jesus and his teachings, they become more like Christ. It implies that spiritual nourishment through faith can transform individuals, aligning their lives with Christian values.
What does the script say about the abundance of Jesus' provision, as illustrated by the 12 baskets of scraps?
-The script uses the image of the 12 baskets of scraps to symbolize the abundance of Jesus' provision. It suggests that there is enough spiritual nourishment for everyone, with each person receiving their own 'basket' of Jesus' teachings and presence.
What is the script's final message regarding the role of bread in the Christian faith?
-The final message is that bread, particularly as it represents Jesus, is the 'bread of life' that brings peace, justice, and love into the world. It is a symbol of God's promise of eternal life and the invitation to partake in the divine life through faith in Jesus Christ.
Outlines
🍞 Bread: A Global Staple and Metaphor for Spiritual Nourishment
The first paragraph introduces the concept of bread as a staple food across different cultures, highlighting its significance in India with 'naan' and 'roti', and its various forms in other countries like Germany's 'pretzels' and Brazil's 'cheese bread'. It also touches on the Irish 'soda bread' and French Canadian 'pain de mie', emphasizing the diversity of bread and its role in nourishing people. The paragraph transitions into a spiritual context by discussing the Biblical story of Jesus feeding 12,000 people with bread, leading to a metaphorical interpretation of bread as the 'bread of life' and the challenge of understanding Jesus' declaration about eating his flesh and drinking his blood for eternal life.
📜 Incarnation and the Theological Depth of Consuming Jesus' Flesh
The second paragraph delves into the theological concept of 'incarnation', explaining it as the divine becoming human in the form of Jesus Christ. It reflects on the audience's potential confusion regarding the literal interpretation of consuming Jesus' flesh and blood, contrasting it with the spiritual and metaphorical understanding of the Eucharist. The paragraph discusses the difficulty of grasping the incarnation theology and the Gospel of John's rich metaphorical imagery. It emphasizes that Jesus' invitation to 'eat his flesh' is not about cannibalism but about a deep spiritual connection and transformation, urging believers to embrace the metaphor and its implications for their faith and daily lives.
🍞 Embracing the Bread of Life for Spiritual Growth and Abundance
The third paragraph focuses on the transformative power of Jesus as the 'bread of life', suggesting that consuming this spiritual bread leads to eternal life and a deeper relationship with God. It uses the metaphor of different types of bread to represent the diversity of believers and their individual spiritual journeys. The paragraph also references Martin Luther's perspective on Jesus as an inexhaustible source of spiritual nourishment, likening it to the loaves that fed the multitude with baskets of leftovers. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of partaking in the Eucharist, regardless of one's theological stance, as a means of spiritual growth, forgiveness, and empowerment to witness God's work through Jesus Christ.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bread
💡Naan
💡Roti
💡Pretzels
💡Incarnation
💡Eucharist
💡Metaphor
💡Faith
💡Transformation
💡Eternal Life
💡Cultural Breads
Highlights
Bread is a staple in India, with 'naan' being an oven-baked flatbread enjoyed with various spreads.
Naan can be enhanced with garlic flavor or served with hummus for a delightful treat.
Roti is an unleavened version of naan, popular in India and the Caribbean.
In Germany, 'pretzels' are a soft dough twisted into various shapes, often enjoyed with spicy mustard.
Brazilian cheese bread is gluten-free, made with tapioca flour, milk, eggs, olive oil, and cheese.
Early Irish baking used baking soda instead of yeast due to the low gluten content in Irish flour.
French Canadian farmers baked 'pain de mie', a white loaf ideal for soaking up gravy.
Puff puff from Nigeria, Congo, and Cameroon is a fried dough delicacy, sweet and easy to make.
The sermon discusses the metaphorical significance of bread in various cultures and its spiritual implications.
Jesus' declaration of being the 'bread of life' is a central theme, emphasizing the spiritual nourishment he provides.
The concept of 'incarnation' is explored, highlighting God's presence in the form of Jesus Christ.
The sermon challenges the literal interpretation of consuming Jesus' flesh, suggesting a deeper metaphorical meaning.
Participation in the divine through Jesus is presented as a way to experience abundant life and forgiveness of sins.
The sermon emphasizes the importance of embracing Jesus fully, both in belief and in daily life.
The idea that 'you are what you eat' is applied spiritually, encouraging believers to 'eat' Jesus and become more like Christ.
Martin Luther's perspective on Jesus as the bread that feeds multitudes without limit is shared.
The sermon concludes with a personal reflection on the speaker's belief in Jesus as the 'bread from heaven'.
An invitation to partake in the spiritual feast of Jesus is extended, promising eternal life and transformation.
Transcripts
it may not be a surprise but every
people have a bread every people bread
is a staple in India the bread is non
non is eleven oven baked flatbread best
enjoyed with spread with butter or glee
or if you want a real wonderful treat
spread some naan of some garlic flavored
hummus help me Jesus roti is also an
onion is an unleavened version of naan
it seems to me it's a flatbread and it's
eaten everywhere in India and somehow it
found its way into the hearts and
stomachs of those in the Carribean roti
if we were in Germany the bread might be
called what we would call pretzels soft
dough twisted in two sticks and shapes
and I don't want you to avoid pretzels
simply because it's associated with
street food great spicy mustard even
better than the naan with the hummus and
garlic if we were in Brazil there's this
simple kind of gluten-free cheese bread
and it's made with tapioca flour milk
eggs olive oil and cheese the early
Irish cooked a bread with baking soda
instead of yeast and that was because
the Irish flour was so low in gluten
that they couldn't make Easter bread our
own French Canadian farmers baked a
plain white loaf that and I'm gonna mess
up how to pronounce it pan demos a
perfect bread for soaking up excess
gravy and sopping up whatever is left on
your plate between helpings that's got
to be a perfect bread and then if you're
from countries like Nigeria or Congo or
the Cameroon there's this thing called
puff puff puff puff is fried dough which
is amazingly delightfully sweet it's
quick and it's easy to make bread is the
stuff of life you have shared with me
over these last few weeks how hard it is
to push yourself away from fresh hot
bread fresh hot bread what doesn't end
up in your stomach remains on your hips
bread it's irresistible
it's your resistible and I imagine that
if we could ask the twelve thousand men
women and children who were served bread
on the mountaintop to witness the wonder
of having a tummy full we would not get
any disagreement bread is the stuff of
life bread is good bread from heaven is
better living bread is better still and
it is in this context it is in the
context of how good bread is and 12,000
people being full up with good bread
that Jesus makes the Declaration those
who eat
my flesh and drink my blood have eternal
life and I will raise them up on the
last day for my flesh is true bread and
my blood is true drink true real bread
now this is where most people check out
we get caught up in the whole you know
eating flesh part and we imagine this
cannibalistic meaning and we throw
ourselves into a tizzy trying to unpack
and make sense of what Jesus has said
even though it was us or our ancestors
who demanded to eat flesh in the
wilderness but we forgot that and yes
God provided us that flesh 40 years of
flesh every evening for us to eat we
have short memories because right after
that we declared that eating the blood
of a slain animal was forbidden unclean
so wait a minute
we ain't eatin your flesh man is you
crazy but I don't sleep folks I don't
really get what all the fuss is about
we were warned by this gospel writer in
the very first beginning of the book the
word became flesh and moved in with us
the word became flesh and moved in with
us so the big theological word that
we're
grappling with is incarnation
incarnation according to my very
favorite dictionary of theological terms
incarnation the out-of-this-world notion
that the eternal and infinite God came
down to earth in finite and first
century Jesus of Nazareth incarnation
the Incarnation is the stuff of
Christmas pageants right Jesus is born
of Mary and Mary places baby Jesus in
the manger and the Shepherd's watch and
the wise men come incarnation Jesus is
100% God and 100% man now I need to
admit that the whole theology of
incarnation is not the stuff of
sunday-school it's it's hard theology
and John the gospel is known for high
Christology rich metaphoric imagery and
of course redundancy we've been talking
about bread a long time and we're just
in chapter 6 you see Jesus has upped the
ante on this incarnation first we're
asked to believe then were asked to
choose to have a relationship with God
and now God has the nerve to ask us to
participate in the relationship in which
we believe scary God wants us body and
soul and wants us to have all of Jesus
in the words of William Willimon
Christian faith would be less difficult
if it were a matter of mere belief or
intellectual assent this incarnate
intends Jesus wants to have all of us
God wants the truth to be burl deep
within us to consume us as we consume
the truth to flow through our veins to
nourish every nook and cranny of our
being the key is eating this flesh don't
be scared don't be scared Jesus didn't
literally mean that Nicodemus had to
return to his mother's womb Jesus was
not referring to the stone and brick in
the promise to rebuild the temple in
three days and Jesus is not referring to
muscle and tissue in the statement this
flesh remember rich metaphoric imagery I
believe that Jesus has something more
wonderful more more wonderful in mind
and yes we will have to do more than
stand around and observe we will have to
sink our teeth into it Jesus comes that
we might have real bread bread that
lasts
bread that endures bread that makes a
difference in our lives and our lives
around us
Jesus brings life made quantitatively
different because we participate with
the divine Jesus is the gift to the
church for abundant life right this
minute and life with God everlasting
think about it this way think about it
this way
Jesus is forever right nod your heads if
you agree
Jesus is forever we eat consume digests
and are nourished by Jesus therefore we
join in the Living Christ we inherit
forever they say you are what you eat
you are what you eat and God wants us to
eat Jesus and to become more like Christ
every single day
Jesus is complicated
Luther we're talking about this passage
I love what Luther Martin Luther the
original reformer has to say Jesus is
not the sort of flesh which sausage is
made of Jesus is more like the bread
used to feed the multitude it is not
possible to find a limit or and end
Jesus has 12 baskets of scraps one for
every nation and every tribe one for you
and one for you this is like The Oprah
Winfrey Show you get a basket of scraps
you get a basket of scraps you get a
basket of scraps you get a basket of
scraps everybody gets a basket of Jesus
to take home and eat now whether you
believe that the bread and wine are
spiritually flesh and the bread
is spiritually the one of the blood or
whether the wine actually becomes the
body and the blood of Jesus or whether
or not it's important to you that we do
this because God commanded us to do it
and therefore we remember what God did
on our behalf which ever one of the
theological positions you find yourself
in one thing is clear is that there are
a lot of kind of bread there's a lots of
kind of bread there is enough for you
and there's enough work up for me each
of the breads that we consume become
this powerful statement of God's
intention to nourish us and to provide a
way for our faith to grow to forgive our
sins and to empower us to be witnesses
to the power of God in Jesus Christ I
worked for a great preacher and he had
this way of closing sermons when he
talked about thanking God and I thought
about him as I thought about this close
of my sermon see if I were German my
bread would be pretzels if I were from
India my bread would be nan if I was
from Cameroon my bread would be puffed
up if I was celiac my bread would be
gluten-free if I was French Canadian my
bread would be plain white and it would
be good for shopping but I am Who I am
and I believe who I believe for my bread
is Jesus hmm it's real bread his bread
come down from heaven it's the bread of
life it is the bread that brings peace
and justice and love into the world and
God promises that I may feast
hallelujah and eat I may eat and live
forever let's see let's eat let's eat
amen
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