First Mennonite Church
August 2, 2026
Bread of Life, not Junk Food
Text: John 6:35, 47-51, 53-56
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 6:48 I am the bread of life. 6:49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 6:51 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.”
6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 6:54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 6:55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 6:56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
Our world is full of contradictions when it comes to food security, sustenance, and life. While there are many having health problems because of the over-abundance of food options, there is a greater share people struggling to get the very basics for life. As I was writing this sermon, an email came from Mennonite Missions Network asking for urgent prayer for the people in South Sudan. The country’s civil war and that of the neighboring country of Sudan, plus the devastation of a recent severe flooding have caused extreme food shortages. Millions are displaced and are being forced to go out to forage for food. Many are going without food for days and the most affected ones are children.
Jesus lived in a world of constant food shortages. The great majority of Jesus’ contemporaries knew what it was go hungry. Paul faced it during his life and he speaks about going hungry for days. We should not feel guilty for the abundance we have, but besides being thankful, we should also be mindful that many do not have that privilege. The effort and ministry our sisters are doing in collecting food items to assist those who do not have, gives us an opportunity to extend God’s care to the less fortunate. Let us support this ministry.
Now, let us remember that the Gospel according to John does not have an actual account of the Lord’s last supper with his disciples. In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciple in the context of a supper, which, actually, was his last. But he does not institute the practice of breaking bread and sharing the cup in his memory, as we find in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
The closest words of Jesus in reference to the practice of Communion are found here in John 6. Jesus exclaims, “I am the bread of life.”
Jesus made this declaration about himself because early in chapter six, is the account where he had fed a crowd of 5000. Interestingly, when the crowds saw his power to multiply bread and fish to feed such large a crowd, they wanted to crown him king. But Jesus escaped and went to a mountain to pray. That night the disciples rowed their boat to the other side of the lake without Jesus. But in the middle of the night, Jesus caught up with them, walking on the water when they were beaten by a storm.
By morning, when the crowd realized that Jesus was no longer on their side of the lake they rushed to Capernaum on the other side. When they found him, they asked, “Lord, when did you come to this side that we did not see you coming?” Jesus confronted them very harshly. “I tell you the truth; you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill…”
Bread symbolizes the basic elements that sustain life. When Jesus prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread,” this petition translates “give us food, shelter, health, acceptance, air to breathe, joy, and peace.” These are basic human needs. But life is more than keeping the body alive. There is a deeper need, the need of the heart, soul, mind, and spirit that also need nourishment. And these cannot be fed or sustained with bread. It’s that deeper need within their hearts that the crowds could not perceive having, which earned Jesus’ rebuke. Therefore, Jesus’ declaration that he is the bread of life and if anybody eats it will have life forever, speaks to the deep need we each have that material bread cannot satisfy.
I am the bread of life. 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.” (6:48 & 51) Within the context of Jesus’ audience—the crowd, these words were highly evocative of ancient Israel’s experience during the exodus. But for the Christian church, these words are powerfully evocative of the command Jesus gave his disciples during his last supper. In Matthew 26, Jesus took and broke the bread and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you” (vv. 26, 27).
Let us reflect for a moment on the implication of eating—that everyday activity we do more than once in the span of maybe 10-12 hours.
In order to eat we must prepare what to eat. We make time to eat. When we eat, we do our best not to rush doing it. We take our time to eat. When we eat, we feed ourselves with what is best for us. We use discretion with food. When we eat, we do it best along with others, be it our family or friends. When we eat, we give thanks to God for the produce of the ground and the labor of others.
On the other hand, we know that people die when they don’t eat. We know that people get sick when they eat the wrong foods. We also know that we feed not only our stomachs, but also our mind, heart, and spirit. We also know that about this kind of eating, it is true that we are what we eat. What we feed our hearts and mind with comes out through our speech and actions.
Still yet, we also know that food for the mind, the heart and the soul abound around us. However, much of it compares to junk food. The world of information, trends, social media contents, politics, entertainment, to name a few, line before our eyes like the food-wing in a mall. This is the kind of food that makes you feel full fast but that neither nourishes nor holds for long. It keeps its consumers always wanting more and more and yet are malnourished or slowly leading them to develop serious health issues. Nonetheless, the throngs consume it, sometimes, even the people of faith.
So, it is incumbent on us to pay closer attention to what Jesus’ reminds us here today. It is urgent for us to take notice what we are consuming.
It doesn’t matter what kind of food we eat; it has to be prepared either by us or others; and it does not matter even if what we eat is raw because preparation might be in the form of washing, chopping, and or slicing. Therefore, in light of Jesus’ offer of him being the bread of life and that who ever eats of him will have everlasting life, we need to ask ourselves, how do I prepare myself to eat the Bread of Life? Am I making time to eat this special and important meal? Or, am I rushing when it comes to my time with the Lord, where it’s only a “Hi” and “Bye” type of encounter?
Eating the Bread of life means having heart-searching moments before God in prayer and meditation. It means having times of confession, worship, and listening. It means, having our hearts centered once more into the will of God.
Eating the Bread of life means seeking and remaining in the presence of God until our heart and soul find the strength and peace of God’s touch. Eating the Bread of Life means having intimacy with the word of God. It means dedicating time to quiet our hearts and minds in order to hear God’s direction, voice, and affirmation. Just as a nutritious meal takes time to make, it takes time and diligence to feed on the Living Bread. This dependence on the Lord is possible through the Holy Spirit and the word of God. This act of eating the Living Bread is also done in the company of brothers and sisters.
Today we are before the Lord’s Table. He is inviting us to eat of the elements that represent his body. Let us allow the Lord to nourish us, to strengthen us, and to affirm us of his gift of everlasting life. But let us not forget that this is only part of our ongoing feeding on him. Let us go and continue feeding on Jesus, the Bread of life, because the one who eats this bread will live forever. Amen!
Pastor Romero