Spirituality You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

A Spirituality You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

When we think of things of the Spirit we may think of things ethereal, things we cannot see or touch. We may think of things other worldly. But when we think of Jesus, we can see him in a manger, feeding 5000, on a cross. We see him in vivid detail. He is someone we can see and touch. Jesus is flesh and blood. And he said he is the Bread of our Life.

What did he mean by that? I think he means that he is someone we can sink our teeth into. As jarring as that may sound to us now, so it was when he first said it. 

Years ago as part of our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a bus load of high school students we travelled along the tense border between Israel and Lebanon in the Golan Heights. 

We stopped by a roadside gathering of Druze. We were hungry and the Druze were cooking sandwiches made of a kind of pita bread that was cooked over a convex metal surface and a charcoal flame. I don’t know what was in those wraps but they were delicious. There was an oily substance with tomato and zucchini and fresh, fresh bread. It was something you could sink your teeth into. It was so satisfying! 

The Druze are a very close knit folk and prefer not to get into theological discussions. They have been persecuted by every major religion in their region although they contain elements all; Islam, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Gnostic etc. They are an Abrahamic Unitarian kind of faith. But they’d rather not be pinned down into one set of dogma or another. History has not been kind to the Druze.  

It is tragic that in the history of our search for God, humankind has been hasty to inflict judgment and violent punishment on those who differ in point of view one from another. 

Today’s First Reading is a case in point. Another tiresome battle and another tiresome war. David against Israel, and his own son Absalom leading the enemy there in the Forest of Ephraim. In the heat of battle Absalom is mortally wounded. He is caught up in the thicket between Heaven and Earth. Armor bearers put the young man out of his misery. When David hears the news, of course, he laments the loss. Those who have lost a child will know the searing pain; “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!”

The Psalmist says; “Out of the depths have I cried out to you,”.

Our search for God, our quest for land, our raging violence, our feuding family pettiness, all our inner demons, lead us into unintended consequences that cost us very dearly.

But here’s a thought. What enemies offer one another by way of cuisine is flavorful and satisfying. Interesting that Jesus taught us about the Bread of Life. I love Italian, Greek, Palestinian, Jewish, French and German cuisine. Cindy and I were both pleasantly surprised to discover that British and Irish cuisine is delightful in its own way. And when the prospect of yet another routine supper looms near, we might look at one another and say; “Let’s send out for Chinese!”

Why then, why then, do we hasten to judge one another so hastily? Religion and Politics! Politics and Religion. We should know better. We’ve already had one Civil War. Why in the Name of God would we need another! God help us. It has been a year now since Charlottesville. Why the hate!

This is why Jesus becomes someone I can sink my teeth into. 

Jesus is for me like fresh bread out of the oven. I love to make fresh homemade bread. I like to get my hands right into the mix of things. I sometimes think of someone I may be out of synch with as I knead that dough mercilessly. That’s a more fruitful way of taking out frustration than in resorting to foolish name calling or fisticuffs. I use a cement baking stone to make a good crust. I preheat that oven to 425 to sear the loaf! Then back down the heat to bake. Ah, and then the aroma of that bread when it comes out fresh from the oven fills the house and the human lungs with something exquisite and delightful!

Jesus said; “I am the Bread of Life!” 

In detail he describes what he means by that.

He invites us into Discipleship.

He gathers us on the hillsides to tell us that even when the poor, mournful, meek, those seeking justice, the pure in heart, peacemakers, or persecuted, we are the blessed of God. 

Rejoice, he declares, for great is your reward in God’s good heaven!

He heals us of all our soul’s diseases.

He visits us when sick or in prison. 

He seeks us out when others reject us.

He brings us into his confidence and lets us in on the “Keys to the Kingdom.” 

Love one another.

Forgive one another.

Be reconciled to one another.

And then he breaks the news to us. 

Yes he will suffer, yes he will die, and yes, he will rise again from the dead.

And so will we! 

Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. 

He makes it vivid and clear to us what he means by that.

He wants to become a spirituality for us we can sink our teeth into just like a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven. 

Jesus is the Way! The Way of the Love of God!

Its either that or you go your own way. 

Try the hateful way…the way of prejudice, violence and warfare…or self recrimination. 

But what does that satisfy?

You may choose the Way that leads to Life or the Way that leads to Death.

Which is it? 

By the way, you can take drugs if you wish. But the evidence seems to show that leads to Death too! Duh!

Why not take life at its own speed, enjoy it for all the richness that it gives you; with all its joys and sorrows. 

The only Way is to be filled with Jesus!
Jesus is not a drug.

Jesus is the Bread of Life!

I love the stories, the history, the theology…but above all I love Jesus. He is someone I can sink my teeth into!

He teaches me how to love. Mind you some folks can make that difficult, especially those who mean us harm…but Jesus said; “Love your enemies!”  

That’s the part I struggle with. But then Paul also gives us something to sink our teeth into; “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

Yes. A Spirituality I can sink my teeth into.

As the French philosopher/theologianTeilhard de Chardin once wrote.

"Plunge into matter. Plunge into God. By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us and molds us. We imagine it as distant and inaccessible, whereas in fact, we live steeped in its...layers."

   ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Amen

Fr Paul