Call to worship
Lord, let me hunger enough that I not forget the world’s hunger.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may have bread to share.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may long for the Bread of Heaven.
Lord, let me hunger enough that I may be filled.
But, O Lord,
let me not hunger so much
that I seek after that which is not bread,
nor try to live by bread alone.
Amen
Opening prayer
We praise you, God of Hope,
for the meaning that you give to our lives in and through Jesus.
He is the sign of your deep and everlasting love for the world
and we rejoice in His promise to sustain us with His life.
We praise you for filling our emptiness with His goodness.
For your gift to us of the true bread from heaven
Jesus Christ, your Son, our living Lord, we thank you.
May our worship and praise express our thanks.
God of Healing and Transformation,
we hunger and thirst for your abundant life.
We bring you our sorrow and ask for the bread of joy;
we bring you our despair and ask for the bread of hope;
we bring you our weariness and ask for the bread of inspiration.
Meet us here.
We need the bread of heaven to sustain us
as we journey to find our way,
that we may we be one with you.
Amen
StF 577: Bread of life, hope of the world
Bread of life, hope of the world,
Jesus Christ, our brother:
feed us now, give us life,
lead us to one another.
As we proclaim your death,
as we recall your life,
we remember your promise
to return again.
Bread of life…
The bread we break and share
was scattered once as grain:
just as now it is gathered,
make your people one.
Bread of life…
We eat this living bread,
we drink this saving cup:
sign of hope in our broken world,
source of lasting love.
Bread of life…
John 6:24-35
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
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.
Reflection
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus said, not once but twice. “I am the bread of life.” When was the last time you ate the bread of life?
Think about all the people, relationships and experiences that have fed, nourished and sustained your life. Recall someone who offered you wisdom or guidance, who listened to you or spoke a word of hope or encouragement that nourished and sustained your life.
They were bread for you.
Or maybe there was someone who helped you discover meaning or purpose in your life. Perhaps it was someone who said: “I forgive you” and you were strengthened to move forward. Maybe someone believed in you when you weren’t so sure about yourself.
People like that love us, teach us, care for us and encourage us. And our lives are fed and nourished by them. Sometimes it’s not even what they say or do, just being in his or her presence is itself bread.
Aren’t there some people that when you spend time with them you just feel well fed and full?
Our lives are nourished and fed by others in thousands of ways.
What if that’s what Jesus is talking about when he speaks of himself as the bread of life?
Throughout the gospels we see him feeding and nourishing life in so many ways and circumstances: through his love, presence, guidance, and teaching; through his healing, forgiveness, and mercy; through his generosity, compassion, and wisdom.
His love and presence are the bread that feeds our souls. Jesus nourishes, sustains and strengthens us every single day, every step of our journey.
And those qualities can be ours as well. Let’s not forget the old saying: “You are what you eat.”. We eat the bread of life and we become it.
When Jesus says: “I am the bread of life” we often assume he is the only loaf in the basket. But what if that is not what He is saying? What if he is not claiming to be the exclusive loaf of bread in this world? What if he is teaching us what bread of life looks like so we can so we can find it in this world, become that bread, so we can be that bread for others?
If you look through the Bible you will find references to all sorts of bread: the bread of adversity, the bread of tears, the bread of affliction, the bread of mourning, the bread of wickedness, the bread of idleness, the bread of the stingy, and it goes on and on. To sum it up there are only two kinds of bread: the bread of life that feeds and nourishes and sustains, and all the other bread that leaves us hungry and malnourished.
What kind of bread are you eating today? Does it fill and nourish you? Or does it leave you hungry and malnourished? Is it sustaining and enduring or has it become hard and dry?
The bread we choose to eat says something about our appetite and what we hunger for. What is your hunger? What is your appetite? Do you need a change in diet, to choose a different bread?
When was the last time you were bread in someone else’s life?
Amen
Discussion questions:
‘Our ancestors ate manna in the desert.’
What is the food that you need for your life’s journey? Why do you think Jesus comes to us as bread or even as food? Would you have found that idea “hard to endure” if you were one of his disciples?
StF 322: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
and drives away our fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole
and calms the troubled breast;
’tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.
O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
my Prophet, Priest, and King,
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
accept the praise I bring.
How weak the effort of my heart,
how cold my warmest thought;
but when I see you as you are,
I’ll praise you as I ought.
Till then I would your love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of your name
refresh my soul in death.
Closing prayers
Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
This is the promise of God to whom we now pray.
Heavenly Father: thank you for sending your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to be the Bread of Life for the world.
Forgive us for elevating earthly appetites above devotion to you.
Feed us with the knowledge of Christ so that we recognise our sin and gladly repent in his name.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.
We pray for those whose daily need for healthy food, clean water and proper shelter goes unmet, and for those misusing what they have in the vain pursuit of pleasure.
Feed them with all the good things of Christ for life now and in eternity.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.
Have mercy on those whose lives have been broken by violence and crime. Feed them with hope and a new life in Christ.
And bless our brothers and sisters in prison and those who minister to them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.
Feed those who are ill in body, mind or spirit with healing and consolation through Christ.
And meet the needs of others we know personally to be in want and whom we now name silently in our hearts…
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.
Merciful Father, you heard the prayers of your people in the wilderness and fed them bread from heaven despite their sin.
Graciously hear us today and feed us too with the Bread of Life from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, for He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
We ask all this in your Son’s name who gave us this prayer:
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom
The power, and the glory
For ever and ever.
Amen
StF 125: Praise and thanksgiving, Father we offer
Praise and thanksgiving,
Father, we offer,
For all things living
You have made good;
Harvest of sown fields,
Fruits of the orchard,
Hay from the mown fields,
blossom and wood.
Lord, bless the labour
We bring to serve you,
That with our neighbour
we may be fed.
Sowing or tilling,
We would work with you;
Harvesting, milling,
For daily bread.
Father, providing
Food for your children,
Your wisdom guiding
Teaches us share
One with another,
So that, rejoicing
With us, our brother
May know your care.
Then will your blessing
Reach every people;
Each one confessing
Your gracious hand.
When you are reigning
No one will hunger:
Your love sustaining
Fruitful the land.
Benediction
Go out from here and live lives worthy
of the one calling which we all share.
In humility, gentleness and patience,
speak only what is true and loving
and so grow into the unity that is ours in Christ.
And may God the creator reshape your hearts;
May Christ Jesus, the bread of life, sustain you always;
and may the Holy Spirit unite you in the bond of peace.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ.
AMEN
