In today’s text, we see Jesus using food to talk about His purpose on earth. Throughout the gospels, Jesus uses many things to teach about His purpose. He tells stories about lost coins and lost people; He teaches about gardening and today He is using baking.

Today’s text is especially important for those of us who grew up in the church because it reminds us that this life of faith we have chosen is more about the actions of God than it is about our actions. In American Christianity, at least, we have taken on the idea that we have to over-function for God. We think we have to get people saved and we carry a great deal of guilt and responsibility related to this idea, but in this text God is drawing the people to Jesus. It is not our job. It never has been. There are directives in Scripture to share the Good News, but that is as far as it goes. We are like every other human in that we need to eat from the living bread as much as the next hungry person. It is time for us to let go of the idea that we are somehow responsible for God’s job.