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Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent

December 5, 2022

Invitatory

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Our King and Savior now draws near: Come let us adore him.

Reading - John 6:57-63

Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

Frankly, this text is a little confusing to me during Advent. “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.” In a season of preparation for the incarnation, for the remembrance of the human Jesus being born of a human woman, how are we to understand what Jesus is saying in this exchange from John’s Gospel? If the flesh is useless, what does God incarnate mean? If the flesh is useless, why does it matter that God took on human form to walk on earth with us?

In 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is, of course, speaking about spiritual nourishment: those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God will have eternal life and will never again feel spiritual hunger or thirst. This spiritual bread contrasts with the physical bread that came down from heaven for the Israelites in the book of Exodus. That was bread for the journey; it was bread to strengthen their bodies as they traveled to the promised land. But this bread, the bread of life, the food of and from Jesus, is sustenance. This bread carries a promise of abiding: “those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” To partake of the sacramental meal is to step into a relationship with the Divine. It is so much more than simple bread and wine.

The flesh is useless. Maybe what Jesus meant by this was that the flesh is useless on its own. Bread that is merely bread does not sustain; it does not connect the one who makes it with the one who eats it. Giving that bread is one-directional. Bread of the Spirit, however, bread that is at once bread and flesh, bread from heaven - God offering that bread creates a dynamic relationship. We are not merely receiving flour and water; we are receiving a promise and a sacrifice, and we are entering into a relationship with God through that meal. God offering us the bread of heaven is God offering us Himself. By receiving the bread of life, we receive new life in Him, and for that we owe God our deepest gratitude.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

    hallowed be thy Name,

    thy kingdom come,

    thy will be done,

        on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

    as we forgive those

        who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

    and the power, and the glory

   for ever and ever. Amen.