The Bread that Gives Life

Our Collect this morning asks God, whose Son Jesus Christ came to be the true bread that gives life to the world, to give us this bread so that Christ may live in us and we in him.  Our readings are about the bread of life, a bread that is a metaphor for experiencing the joy of God’s love.

Following their exile in Egypt, the Israelites journeyed to the promised land of Canaan.  The Book of Joshua doesn’t dwell on much that happened as the tribes of Israel journeyed from Egypt through the wilderness to Canaan.  But once they arrived they no longer had a need for manna.  Instead, they kept the Passover while they were camped in Gilgal, and then on the next day they “ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain…. They ate the crops of the land of Canaan.”

It must have been quite a celebration to enjoy the fresh produce following whatever happened in the wilderness along the journey from Egypt to Canaan.  After any lengthy journey, isn’t it good to be home and share in a celebration?  Think about those in military service who come home to the United States after a tour of duty in another country, in Iraq or Afghanistan; or someone who has lived abroad for a year or more and then returns.

The historical account in Joshua is in sharp contrast to the narrative in Luke’s gospel.  Leaving home to go on an adventure is the opposite of coming home.  The story of the Prodigal or lost son is a case in point.  Jesus told a parable to the Pharisees and scribes who criticized him for welcoming sinners and sharing a meal with them.  It is a familiar story, but sometimes I think we miss its true meaning.

Many years ago one of my seminary professors wrote a book titled “The Jesus of the Parables.”  Charles W. F. Smith has a lot to tell us about the Prodigal son in his book.  When the man with the two boys divided his property between them it was understood that the recipients, “while owning the title [to the property], were required to keep it intact so that its income could be used by the father as long as he lived.”  The share received by the prodigal did not release him from his obligation to be a good steward of his inheritance or to use it for his father’s support.  It was a “heavy duty” to honor and support one’s parents.

We know what the young son did.  He took his inherited wealth and went on a trip where he “squandered his property in dissolute living.”  Imagine today having a son who travels to a foreign country, enjoys an unlimited lifestyle, stays there until a severe disaster happens like a drought or hurricane, and charges everything on his parent’s credit card, so much so that half the parent’s wealth is depleted. 

The Prodigal son was like that.  Then, in order to survive, he had to find a job working in the fields and feeding the pigs.    It was a far different lifestyle than the one he had left back home.  Eventually, awakening to the reality of his situation, he decided to repent and go home. He knew the servants back home were well fed and were secure.  They had “bread enough and to spare.”  How much better than working in the hot fields, feeding pigs, and “dying of hunger.”  He decided to admit his fault and plead to his father to take him in, not as a worthy son, but as one of the hired hands.

The story then shifts to the perspective of the father.  Here is the real meaning of the story.  As Professor Smith points out, “The father’s preparedness which is implied in [the statement ‘while he was still far off’ he ‘saw him and was filled with compassion’,] is summed up and far exceeded by his instructions to the servants.”

This means that “the returned wanderer is not only treated as an honored guest but reinstated into the family circle, a son still; though once lost, found; though once dead to the family, now a living part of it.”  It was the father’s immediate purpose to restore his son, a parent’s enduring love and compassion.

When the son arrived back home it was time to celebrate.  Bring in all the extended family; kill the fatted calf, eat and dance for joy.  The one who was lost has now been found.  What a relief!

But wait.  There is another element to consider.  For some reason the elder brother was out in the field when the party began.  He had not been part of the planning for the celebration.  So, as he approached the house he heard the singing and dancing as asked what was going on.  Naturally, when told that his younger brother had returned and everyone was rejoicing, “he became angry and refused to go in.”

The father then came out to meet the elder son and with the same display of compassion and concern he had shown to his younger son, he responded to the elder son’s anger. “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”

It is important for us to understand that the father in the parable is not to be identified with God.  The question posed by Jesus in telling this story to the critical Pharisees and scribes is, “What do you think?”  As Professor Smith states, “The parallel attitudes, [those of the father to each of his sons] are to be looked for in what Jesus clearly taught to be the attitude of God, required of all who would follow him…. [These are attitudes of] solicitude, expectation, compassion, and restoration with abounding joy.  These are the elements of God’s attitude toward the lost…. The elements of the opposed attitude are calculation of merit, demand for reward, unfavorable comparison, and unrelenting exclusiveness.  These Jesus felt must be condemned and opposed, not because he felt them unworthy or unkind, but because they misunderstood or denied the true nature of God.”

The true nature of God is the attitude of compassion and unconditional love.  Whenever we wander away from home, or move away from our relationship with God, God will welcome us back home regardless of our condition or the circumstances of our lives.

“Gracious Father, whose blessed son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us and we in him.”  Amen.