The Bread Of Heaven Is The Bread Of Life

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

August 01, 2021

in Spritual Growth

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9th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines
August 01, 2021

Readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Ephesians 4:17-25
John 6:24-35

The necessity to know God and to walk in His ways are the most essential things we need to do in the light of what we are facing today. It’s amazing that scripture written ages ago are relevant to what we are going through in this day and age. At a time when the world is doing things contrary to God’s ways, we should know who we are in the midst of the turmoil. We can only overcome through one Redeemer, who is Christ. In the time of Moses, the children of Israel were complaining even if God had already provided them everything. Are we any different today when we complain and murmur when God has already given to us everything pertaining to life and godliness?

It is important to look back at our previous lessons of the feeding of the five thousand and the calming of the storm. And at another time when there was again a storm and the disciples were in the midst of the sea, Christ came towards them by walking on the water. In fact, he was actually on top or above the water. A day after, when the disciples already reached Capernaum, a group of people gathered together seeking for Jesus. These people were diligent in seeking. The desire and the intensity were there. Scripture says, “if you seek, you will find.” So they found Jesus teaching in the synagogue. They came to Him and addressed Him as “Rabbi,” or “teacher.” They were wondering how Jesus got there. Jesus’ response was, “you are not seeking Me because of the miracles but because you want to eat.” Remember the Wedding at Cana when the wine ran out and Jesus turned water into wine? It was said that the wine was the choicest and the best. Just like the loaves and fish which tasted extraordinarily good and different that the people were greatly satisfied. It was nothing like what they had ever tasted before.

Jesus said, “you seek for the things which perish. Because of this, you lose eternal life.” In our own lives, if we seek temporary things, we will miss out on the eternal things. We spend too much time seeking knowledge from education but have very little time for the things of God. The things in this world keep changing. The things of God are eternal – they never change. We are missing the eternal things when we focus too much on the temporal and we lose living in the paradise of God – a life of peace and confidence and security. “What should we do and what are the signs? Jesus said “you must believe in God. What Moses did, did not come from himself, it came from God. It came from heaven.” From heaven is the bread of life. The essence of everything. It’s the peace, the security that comes with living the life according to His purpose.

We should seek God because we choose to worship Him and not because of the blessings. When we truly worship Him, the blessings will come. We should be praising and thanking Him at all times and in all things. Even when we encounter problems, we should thank God that we have been given the ability to overcome. The problems are there so that the glory of God can be manifested, for us to prove who God is. God is life. Life comes from the heart. When we have Christ, it’s not what we have but who we are in Him. “I am the Bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not hunger or thirst.”

We are facing strange times today. It is God who will protect us and save us. He took care of Israel when they were delivered from Egypt. Those who turned against Him died. The only ones who survived were the following generation.

Temporal things do not last. It is only God and the things of God that will last. He is stable. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When we face difficulties, we should put our trust in Him. In times when we need healing and we put our whole faith and trust in God, the healing becomes instantaneous. In all things, we need to give Him all the praise and the glory due to Him.