I Am the Bread of Life

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

We’re kicking off our Bread of Life series this week. Together we will walk through scriptures that tell us about Jesus and his call to feed the hungry. In a world that feels heavy, divided, and uncertain, our hearts ache, our minds seek peace, and our souls hunger for hope. Amid injustice and tragedy, we will remember together we must first gather around the table for strength and sustenance that we may respond to the aches of the world with love and grace.

We started off Ash Wednesday by remembering that we do not live by bread alone. By remembering that we have all missed the mark from time to time, and that it’s God’s grace that shows up in spite of it all. We read the story of Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness and recalled together that Jesus would fulfill these things, in his own time. Not under the power of the tempter.

As we journey through Lent, we will continue to remember that while we do not live by bread alone, we do take strength for the journey from the table of Christ. There we will find not scarcity, but abundance. Abundance in the relationships we form, in the words that we use to talk with one another, and in the lives that we build in this space.

One such relationship that leads us from scarcity to abundance is our partnership with Lift Urban Portland, or Lift UP, who operates Preston’s Pantry on-site three days a week. Through Preston’s Pantry, Lift UP feeds 16,000 Portlanders a year, providing food security where once there was none and relationships that heal isolation.

I had the opportunity to visit with Stephanie Barr, Executive Director of Lift UP, and her team last week to hear about the good work that they are doing in community and relationship with one another, with their volunteers, and with the clients whom they serve.

I was not curious about the statistics and numbers, though those things matter and can be found in their annual report linked here. Rather, what I really wanted to know, was what community impact they had noticed and where they found hope in the middle of a challenging year for us all.

Stephanie opened our conversation by showing me around the warehouse – telling me how food was distributed, where it went, and our role in all of that. Thousands of pounds of food moves through their warehouse each year and goes directly to our neighbors who are hungry, with no limitations or consequences.

Lift UP is all about food that brings people together. They work to provide culturally appropriate foods to those who come to their pantry spaces. They are intentional about providing teaching opportunities so that people can learn to cook with what they have available to them, whether it’s a hot plate or a stove. They teach people how to make unfamiliar foods into recipes that their families will love and enjoy.

Stephanie shared that she found hope in the myriad of ways that people kept showing up for their neighbors – through gleaning, delivering food boxes, helping out at Preston’s Pantry, and simply providing a listening ear when someone was having a rough day. She shared that hope was strongest in the partnerships that they had developed, including with us here at First Church. She found such joy in the ways the community was engaged with local work, including local farmers and gleaners, that helped to boost immediate relationships and support small businesses.

She shared that Portland, particularly downtown, is a community that cares for themselves and, more importantly, for one another. She shared the abundance that comes out of communities when communities lean into the needs that they have and work to meet those needs.

I spoke with Stephanie about ways that we can support their growth from scarcity to abundance. She mentioned a number of things, including advocating with your city and state elected officials to preserve SNAP as a safety net for our communities, growing food in your summer gardens to donate to Lift UP, and creating cards of love, care, and support that are delivered with food boxes to people who are often shut in or otherwise do not have many relationships outside those who deliver food boxes to them.

The reality is that Lift UP has seen an increase in persons needing food over the past year, indicating that food insecurity is growing in our area as well.  We are all doing our part to meet that insecurity with abundance – in how we engage, in how we give, and in how we educate our neighbors.

We are meant to be the lived-out sacrament of the gift of God to the world, providing those around us glimpses of the Holy through our ordinary, everyday actions.

In the text just before Jesus declares he is the Bread of Life, the people ask Jesus what miraculous sign he will do that they may see and believe him (John 6:30). Jesus responds to this request for a miracle with something ordinary – bread that will feed them and sustain them for the journey ahead.

This is the work that Lift UP is doing – providing ordinary, life-sustaining bread for those who are hungry. As we travel through Lent together, let us open our eyes to the ways that we, too, can provide life-giving bread for those with whom we interact.

And, if you’re looking for a way to advocate or volunteer, let me know! I’m eager to connect you.

Yours in Community,
Rev. Rachel