The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-04
The Bread of Life"

Selected for The -Dispatch)
II am the Bread Of Life" st. John
Was.
The words are a protest against ma
terialism as shown by the crude ambi-
ticns Of the crowd, who pursued Jesus af-
ter the feeding Of the five thousand.
They pressed upon Him in the quiet
place, He had chosen for His retreat.
with their thought set upon another meal
as easily and as magcaly produced as
the last
'Ye seek me- Tie said. "bccalise yc
did eat OF the lives, and were filed"
But instead of another miracle He gave
them a parable. indeed. of another meal.
He offered thenl-Himsclf.
Notice q great assumption. which un-
His figure of speech. That assumption
is, that men are hungry. Man Is n.
hungry being, for in his nature is con-
slant waste of tissues and need of re-
pairs. If he be not hungry there is
something wrong
How shall we define this day and
abiding need of humanity? In one aspect
( 1t is hunger for happiness and in an
other. It Is hunger for love. In another
it is a hunger and thirst for righteous
ness. 1t Is all these things and moro,
because 1t is also a hunger for God. That
Is the master need of the human soul.
These words bring us face to face with
the unseflshness of Christ. Bread is a
necessity: we cannot live without bread.
And IL Jesus be that Bread of Life, 1t
means that we cannot live without Him.
Bread does not stand upon the table
to exhibit itself or to glorify itself The
corn does not grow that men may adj
mire its beauty and speak in its praise.
The end of It's existence Is fulfilled only
Ii, proposition as the corn and the bread
are taken bruised within, and consumed.
Bread not eaten, is not bread-ht only
mouldy lumber.
The cross was to be Gods answer to
mans hunger for love: greater answer
than hunger could not receive. And the
cost of the gift did not affect the divine
determination to bestow it.
We have our small scharities-our loaves
for tho poor, our crumbs of comfort for
the sad and solitary; our relief for tenn
poral or spirital poverty. But how small
is the distance we are willing to go.
when it calls for real sacrifice, personal
trouble, pain, trial or self remuneration.
We have nowadays paid agents to bear
the cross for u.s. But this is the glory
of tho gift of God feature of 1t
which put most of our better philan-
thropcs to shame-it cost Him all He
could give and all He could bear He
spared not His own Son. but delivered
Him UP for his all"
Ten thousand worlds live by His boun-
ty. and there is no strain upon His re-
sources to supply the needs of every
creature He has made. But when we
pass from our cornficlds- to that Corn OF
Wheat which long ago fell into the
ground and died; when we pass from
the bread upon our tables to the true
bread OF which 1t was type, we are
in asisregion wherever God can suffer
loss. tor count up gain. d4s
Bread aids mans life from within. Man
has many possessions which help him
from without. Clothing to keep him
warm. light to shine upon his path. n
beautiful world round about him, to
mirror forth the Creators glory. Yet
to have all that, ana nothing moro, would
be to live and die like Tantnus
The body has an inward need, to neglect
which is death. 1t is apt to be neglected
while 1t is all essential. Christ always
insisted that the inner life was the true
life. Christ for us Is much, but not
enough Christ in us, is absolutely neces-
sary to, our spiritual health. That is the.
chief and real meaning of this figure of
Bread.
I We are all by nature materialists. We
have Il strong tendency to be much more
interested in our outer than in our inner
selves. ",rhe slightest failure in bodily
strength" says Fenelon, us promptly
felt. and needed. The least weakness in