Thought for Maundy Thursday, 9^th April 2020

Jesus is the Bread of Life

Bible Extracts

John 6, 35 – 40:
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 26, vv. 20, 26 – 29:
When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples……………
Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Reflection

A noticeable feature of the current situation is that one of the first things to run out in the shops was bread flour. Seemingly, everyone had the simultaneous urge to bake their own bread. I don’t think this is panic buying – fortunately, there is plenty of ready made bread available to purchase.  Rather, it demonstrates a strong, instinctive response to the importance of this basic food coupled with the deep comfort and homely satisfaction of baking your own bread, even if, like my family, you cheat and use a machine. 

God understands this yearning, both for food and for comfort. Jesus went hungry in the wilderness and subsequently referred to himself as “the bread of life” who can satisfy our hunger, our yearning for comfort and for the deep sense of belonging that comes from being known through and through, yet loved without reservation. 

At the Last Supper, just before he went out to suffer and die, Jesus gave his disciples the great sign of his love in the form of bread and wine, which he blessed and shared among them. These simple, everyday things were invested with our Lord’s self-giving love for the whole world. He still comes to us spiritually through the offering of these gifts in his name, satisfying our deepest hunger – the yearning to be known, understood, cherished, loved, brought home. 

It is hard, this Maundy Thursday, not to be able to celebrate the Last Supper together, not to be able to take the bread and wine of Communion physically. But these great symbols of God’s love continue to be offered by the Church around the world and the spiritual truth they represent in physical terms remains true and available to all people: that God so loved the world that he sent his only son, Jesus, to die and, through that death, his will is to feed us with his presence now and in eternity.           

The Prayer of St Richard of Chichester (adapted for use during the emergency by the Church of England)

Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits you have given me,
For all the pains and insults you have borne for me.
Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,
I ask you to come spiritually to my heart.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know you more clearly,
Love you more dearly,
And follow you more nearly, day by day.
Amen.                           

Some reflective music

https://youtu.be/x0__tgrjTkc

O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis eius:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.
Alleluia.

Translation of original Latin:
O sacred banquet!
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory to us is given.
Alleluia.