Bread of Life
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Isaiah 11:6-9
The wolf will live with the lamb, the lion will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
I started out in John this morning, reading about Jesus being the “bread of life.” In John 6:35, I read: “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” How does this verse from John tie into the Isaiah passage? Well, it struck me that our faith—true radical, deep and active faith—can turn the world upside down! We can literally accomplish what the world considers foolish, impossible, implausible, crazy!
These verses from Isaiah are often depicted on Christmas cards, and at this time of year we focus so much on world peace. But I think John understood that we are to do more than imagine a world like the one described in Isaiah, we are to live it out and cause it to be! Wow! How in the world do we go about accomplishing that? Again, I go back to John: through faith in Jesus Christ. If we rely upon him and his message we can do anything! Anything?! Anything! Even bring about world peace! Even make our little part of our world a better place.
I wonder what would happen if every Christian on earth decided, universally, to declare, “Enough!” to the warlords and the mega-conglomerates and the politicians and decided to act in unison—call for a laying down of arms; call for peace talks—real peace talks, with wise and humble people as mediators. What if we said we don’t want to see twenty-something’s portrayed on television with multiple sex partners. What if we said we don’t want programs on television that laud winners who do the most disgusting thing, or try to put down competitors the most brutally? What if we said we won’t go to war—ever—for any reason? What if we declared that a new era has begun?
I know you think I’m dreaming! You think I’m being pretty unrealistic. What if families didn’t have to swap moms/wives for them to appreciate the person who cares for them and nurtures them and loves them. What if couples got married and decided that no matter what, divorce is not an option – except as a last resort (of course I exclude abuse and other issues). Gosh, I’d settle for every registered voter going to the polls on election days as a start!
World wide there are at least one billion—that’s billion!—Christians! What if there were some way we could get word to all of those Christians throughout the world, that we are now in charge!? What do you think the world would look like? What do you think would be on television, and in newspapers and on the radio? What music groups do you think would be popular and who would we admire and point to as role models then? I don’t think Isaiah’s world is so hard to imagine! I think about it often! And I long for it! My challenge is to work toward it even on those days when I’m running late, and the phone won’t stop ringing at work, and I’ve got meetings, and appointments, and . . . life!
I hope you’ll spend today feasting upon the bread of life that sustains and nourishes our faith. And that you’ll think, for just a minute, about what would happen if the world was turned upside down—even for just a day!
Mary
