Mandy Hill - "Bread of Life"

Redemption Church KC Sermon Podcast

1. In preaching about John 6, and Jesus’s directive to “eat [his] flesh,” Mandy shared a quote from Lauren Winner:

"In calling himself 'the bread of life,' — and not, say, crème caramel or caviar — Jesus is identifying with basic food, with sustenance, with the food that, for centuries afterward, would figure in the protest efforts of poor and marginalized people. No one holds caviar riots; people riot for bread. So to speak of God as bread is to speak of God's most elemental provision for us.”

What thoughts, feelings, or curious-wonderings come in to your mind in response to this quote? What does it mean for God to be elemental provision for us? Does the idea of Christ as elemental provision resonate for you? What do you think some of the reasons for your response might be?

Are there ways in which Christ feels more like elemental provision than others? Are there areas in which Christ feels more like crème caramel? What signals internally help you to see a difference? What are some indicators of times in which you really relate to God as elemental provision? What’s it look like or feel like?

2. Mandy also preached about two types of “lists” each of us may have. The first is a list of unsatisfied desires, something perhaps akin to “A deep longing for a far away land.” She shared some examples from her own list: a longing for connection, desires for purpose, meaning, creative engagement in the world, and more. Mandy asked, “what are those hungers for you?” Share with the group.

The second list is of things we may use as substitues for nourishing communion with God; examples might be perpetual busyness, podcasts, books, movies, the 24-news cycle, and other people. Consider what things might be on your own version of this list as wel, and share with the group? Why do you think it’s so hard to yeild the things on this list and make space for God to nourish us and act as that elemental provision?

3. Mandy also shared perspectives on the metaphor of God as a mother. She shared about a mother’s hope to nourish her baby, and her worry when her baby turns away the sustenance she can help to provide, as well as the joy she feels at seeing her beloved thrive when that dependent child partakes of the sustaining nourishment she can provide.

What was this metaphor like for you? Did it resonate for you? If so, how so? If not, why not? What’s it like to consider God in the position of this nursing mother, offering sustenance and “elemental provision” to you? How often do you think you readily accept this nourishment? How often do you turn it away or operate as if its nonexistent? How does thinking of God in this nursing mother’s role impact your considering of this ideas when you picture yourself as the depenent child?

Spend a little time considering the many maternal images of God presented in both the Bible and throughout Christian history. How familiar are you with this way of engaging with or thinking of God? What ideas, thoughts, inspirations, or resistances do you find surfacing internally? Share about them and discuss with the group.