Standing at the intersection

Most days we stand at the intersection of "I don't think so" and "We can only hope."  Whether it is a car salesman's claim that this new car gets 50 mpg, or a child's claim that she is perfectly innocent or a spouse's assertion that it was a late meeting with the boss, most days we stand between incredulous skepticism and the chance possibility of our dreams coming.true.  This is especially true when it comes to faith.

So when Jesus says "I am the bread of life" "the living bread" and "whoever eats of me has eternal life," there we are right at the intersection of "I don't think so" and "We can only hope".

You can hear it in the confused crowd who is trying to make sense out of Jesus' words. They are caught between looking like a bunch of fools for believing this guy, and at the same time, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to be fed forever. It is hard because Jesus is making some outrageous claims.

Some of the folks know Jesus from the neighborhood; he lived right down the street.  They want to deflate Jesus' elevated opinion of himself.  Some of the folk must have thought Jesus was talking jibberish:  I am the bread come down from heaven, and the bread that I give to the world is my flesh.

We are caught at this intersection because we want to believe that Jesus is living bread, that we can taste and experience life eternal, but life has taken us to some deep, dark places were trusting in God is almost more than we can bear.  Did you read about that 5 year old boy whose family was caught in one of the wild fires?  He calls out from the house, about to be engulfed by flames, "Grandpa, come and get me!" as Grandpa stood helpless - in safety but unable to re-enter the already burning home.  This is deep darkness; we must take this reality seriously when we consider Jesus' words.


But what if Jesus is simply speaking the truth?  "I am" he says.  Not 'I will be' or 'I once was' but "I am".  "Whoever eats of me has eternal life"  Has.  Not 'will have' or 'could have' but "has" - the eternal present. The gift of Jesus is not for some distant time but begins the moment you turn towards him. Commit to this Jesus and begin tasting eternal life today.  Who couldn't use a little taste of the eternal on any given day of the week?

So, today, let's begin with now.  Let's believe that today I will taste the eternal; I will see God.  I will experience or witness mercy or forgiveness or grace or love.  I will be given the strength to be mercy or forgiveness or generosity or grace or love to another.  Today.

Today we begin to taste the powerful presence of the eternal in the ordinary.