You are walking down the street, minding your own business, thinking whatever thoughts happen to be passing through your head at the time. When suddenly you are dragged back to your senses by the smell of fresh baked bread, compelling you to locate the source. In that moment your understanding of the world is clearly in focus. You are very much aware that you are alive, and life is good.

And Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” We know about bread. It nourishes. It satisfies. It entices. Even just the smell is enough to make our mouths water with desire. It draws us on until we find the source. At the end of today’s reading from Ephesians we find this interesting phrase. “Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering...” (Ephesians 5:2) Imagine that the fragrant offering is the smell of fresh baked bread -- enticing us and drawing us on to find the source of life, which is God. Connecting our lives with Christ nourishes us and points us to the divine source.

What I find particularly attractive about this image are the ways in which it offers us the possibility of relating to God based on enticement rather than enforcement. The idea that faithful living can be a “want to” rather than a “have to.” “I am the bread of life that makes your mouth water and long for more.” “I am the smell of bread baking that draws you from the path you’re on and leads you to ultimate nourishment.” “I am the food that fills not just your stomach but your deepest longings.” Viewing Christ this way, and by implication also the God to whom Christ points us, changes everything. It transforms the shape of Christian living from one of obligations to be endured into one of possibilities for service to be explored.

When we believe in Jesus (which is to say, when we see him for what he really is -- the one who leads us into relationship with God) and when we follow Jesus (which is to say, when we seek to live our lives with the same love which he embodied), then certain qualities become visible. Not because we are trying to make them visible, but simply because that is what life looks like when our lives are nourished by the bread of life. The writer of the Letter to the Ephesians understood this. He describes this kind of life in terms of how we treat each other. Be honest with each other. Be angry if you must, but don’t let anger consume or control you. Take care of each other, especially those who are most fragile and vulnerable among you. Watch what you say and how you say it, because you are now speaking on behalf of God. Don’t tear each other apart. Instead be kind and gentle and gracious with each other. In other words, follow the lead of God, who has already loved you far more than you had any right to expect. Love each other that way. Not because you have to, but because you are drawn to. Just as the smell of fresh baked bread entices you to the bakery, allow the presence of Christ in your life to entice you into genuinely faithful living and loving.

“I am the bread of life,” says Jesus in profoundly eucharistic language. We can’t help but think about the other time when Jesus took bread and said, “This is my body.” What might it mean if we began to allow our experience at the Lord’s Table each week to be shaped and colored by a deeper, fuller awareness of what happens at the table and where it might lead us? ...if instead of simply taking the bread as it is passed to us, and perhaps thinking a few thoughts about Jesus or God, we recognized it as a powerful reminder of Christ’s ongoing and nourishing presence in our lives. ...if instead of simply letting it be a nice, quiet, personal time between us and God, we started to remember the quality of life with each other which Christ empowers us to live. The table might become more than just a moment in the midst of our worship once a week. It might become the foundation upon which genuine, loving community is built and sustained. By remembering what it means to be nourished by the true bread of life we might begin to nourish each other as well.

Nutritionists tell us that we must strive to eat a balanced diet in order to live balanced lives. That truth carries over into the world of faith and spirit as well. In order to live in balanced, loving community with each other, where care and respect and kindness are the order of the day, it is essential that we are regularly nourished with the balanced diet of God’s presence. Have you had your daily allowance of the bread of life?