Transformed Hearts: Decoding ‘True Bread’ in John 6

Last updated on: July 30, 2024 at 8:51 pm by Tricia Gates Brown

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Transformed Hearts: Decoding ‘True Bread’ in John 6 2024-07-30T20:51:34-07:00 Tricia Gates Brown

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transformed hearts

{Photo by Jakkree Thampitakkull for Scopio; transformed hearts}

{Meditation on John 6:24-35}. Imagine that someone you love is terminally ill, needing healing, and you hear that a great teacher has come to a town near you, someone who also has a reputation for healing. So you pack the car with everything you and your family will need for the afternoon, and head out to where this person will be speaking. But when you arrive, you see that thousands of other people had the same idea. You patiently wait and wait as the day goes on. Eventually everyone is tired, cranky, and hungry. But hold on! As evening nears, the teacher somehow feeds the entire crowd.

Since he couldn’t heal everybody, you decide to follow him to the next town. Many other people with needs have the same idea. Again, a whole crowd gathers, and everyone is pressing in to receive healing from the teacher, especially after his astounding feeding the day before. But instead of healing or feeding everyone, he says, “Wait! I don’t want you to be fed for just a day or even a week, and I’m not here to be a wonder worker. I want you to live the life God has for you as one of God’s children. That is what I’m here to teach.” Yet everyone wants a sign that the teacher can be believed. They say, “You gave gifts and signs to our ancestors. What are you going to do for us? If you give us what we want, then maybe we will listen to you. Only if you fulfill our wishes.”

So the teacher tells them: “You are not seeking after true bread. True bread nourishes your deepest soul so you will never be hungry. True bread and true healing can only come from connection with God, from living out your purposes as living incarnations of God. If you let me give you this bread, you will never go hungry.”

After this, some are eager to know more about his teaching. But many leave disappointed because they can’t get the prizes they are after.

transformed hearts

{Photo by Ekaterina Weber for Scopio; transformed hearts}

Transformation From The Inside Out

The scene in this parable or story is very common and very human. I don’t know about you, but I often get distracted by the good things in my life—whether material things, or experiences that satisfy the senses—such as listening to audiobooks and making art. When I am distracted in this way, I can lose touch with the spiritual. I can forget for a time that the sights and sounds and feelings within and around me are temporary. The parts of me that live on, that are an expression of God—these are the things that matter most. So often we are compelled to look inward only when we find ourselves in crisis, perhaps because of illness or heartbreak or a financial bind. Then we go looking for miracles, just like the people in the story. Now, there is nothing wrong with asking for provision and guidance during our times of need. God want us to pour out our hearts.

But Jesus taught us this: God’s desire is not to provide merely for our bodies. God wants transformed hearts. God wants to transform us from the inside out. God wants to make us reflections of the Love Force so that we represent God’s loving presence and values in the world, so that God can transform the world through us. It is okay to need help and to bring our needs to God. But it is important to remember, God needs us too.

Wren, winner of a 2022 Independent Publishers Award Bronze Medal

Winner of the 2022 Independent Publisher Awards Bronze Medal for Regional Fiction; Finalist for the 2022 National Indie Excellence Awards. (2021) Paperback publication of Wren , a novel. “Insightful novel tackles questions of parenthood, marriage, and friendship with finesse and empathy … with striking descriptions of Oregon topography.” —Kirkus Reviews (2018) Audiobook publication of Wren.

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About TriciaGatesBrown

Tricia Gates Brown is an everyday theologian working as a writer/editor in Oregon's Willamette Valley, mainly editing and co-writing books for the National Parks Service and Native tribes. After completing an MA in theology then a PhD from the University of St. Andrews in 2000, she continued to pursue her studies—energetically self-educating in theology, spirituality, and the emotional life. She is also an Ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. Tricia is an art quilter, potter, and novelist. You can read more about the author here.

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