This week's readings are Exodus 16:11-15 and John 6:28-35.  We're taking a detour from our travels with Abraham and Co. to mark Lammas.  Unsurprisingly both readings, therefore, reference bread.

The Exodus reading tells of the miraculous provision of 'bread' to the Israelites as they made their way through the wilderness to the promised land.  A fine flaky substance, with the taste of honey would appear each morning - enough to feed and sustain the fledgling nation.  Not knowing what it was, the Israelites called it 'manna', literally 'What is it?' showing that human beings have never been particularly creative when it comes to thinking up names.  Moses, though, calls it bread, recognising its role (no pun intended) not its substance, in being the staple food that will keep this people alive.

Jesus pushes the figurative misnomer further when he applies it to himself in the reading from John.  'I am the bread of life' he says.  Just like the manna in the wilderness he's not literal bread - but his point is the same as Moses'.  He is the daily staple that will enable his people to live.  For Jesus, though, even life is something more than we usually mean - he's not just talking about lungs keeping breathing, hearts pumping, and muscles moving; the hunger he speaks of is not of the stomach, it is of the soul - it is the deep longing to be known, accepted, and loved for the person we are.

Jesus isn't talking about life, he's talking about life .  Life in which the fullness of being human is experienced, in joy, wonder, love, and awe; in which we discover what it means to be who we truly are, as we discover who it is we become when we walk continually in the presence of God.

Which leads me to ask you this week - what is the staple you're seeking and consuming on a daily basis to sustain you, strengthen you, and form you?  And who are you becoming as you consume it?