The Bread of Life

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that he is the bread of life and that anyone who comes to him will never go hungry. This is not even remotely true. The pain caused by the “all you need is Jesus” jargon has been jarring. The bible writes some checks our souls can’t cash. Of course, context matters. In John, the rhetoric is off the rails because it is rooted in the life-and-death struggle of oppressed people. John wages a war against the supremacy of religious and political authorities, and in the process, sometimes the sacred story sinks into supremacy too. 

Jesus is still a staple for me because his story clarifies, over and over, what love is: a willingness to lay down my life for others. Love subverts supremacy. People experience “God” when they get off the pedestal, stop performing and orient their lives around truth, beauty, goodness and humble service to others. This is what Jesus said and did. When this kind of love becomes the lens and litmus test for everything, it serves as a compelling contrast to popular lifestyles that center success, comfort and entitlement. 

For me, Jesus is the bread of life. But I know I cannot live on bread alone. I need other staples in my spiritual diet. Like Black and Native brilliance and al-anon wisdom and therapy and unhindered time in nature and morning journaling sessions and meditation and studying race, class, gender and sexuality and exploring my bloodlines and deep dialogue with kindreds who have the capacity for vulnerability. When these are served up with the bread of life, they enrich and expand what love looks like in real time. This, I believe, is what life is about.