Sally pulled the last loaves of bread from the oven and set the pans on cooling racks. Surveying the kitchen, she breathed in the heady aroma. Sixteen loaves of bread lined the counter. Enough to feed everyone at the church spaghetti dinner. She released the earlier loaves from their pans and packaged them for the trip to church.

            When the bread was ready to go, she changed out of her flour-streaked clothing and loaded the bread into the back seat. It would be nice to get out tonight. These monthly church dinners were fun, even though they always had way too much food. This was the first time she’d contributed. Everyone would surely love her grandmother’s bread recipe.

            Normally, she drove straight from her row home down the boulevard to church. It was a straight shot, allowing her to avoid most of the challenging one-way streets in the city. A few minutes from church, however, a road closure detoured her around to an unfamiliar area. Her right front tire slammed into a deep pothole and the car shuddered. She pulled over to the side of the road and examined the tire. Completely flat. Now what?

            Sally glanced around. Her car sat directly in front of a soup kitchen. This was not a safe place to be stuck. She considered her options. She was only about two miles from church, at most. How bad would it be to drive for two miles on a flat tire? Just as she was about to get back in the car and try it, a man approached.

            “Need a hand?”

            Sally studied the man. He wore a faded army jacket over a hoodie, both of which were worn thin. He lifted his cracked, weathered hands, expressing he meant no harm, revealing fingernails black with dirt. A scruffy gray beard hid most of his face, but his eyes shone with kindness. Against all her better judgment, Sally turned to him for help.

            “I popped a tire. I have a spare in the trunk, but I’ve never changed a tire before.”

            The man grinned a gap-toothed grin. “Pop the trunk and I’ll get you back in business in no time.”

            Sally obeyed and stood, silently, one eye on the man, and the other on her surroundings, praying she’d be safe. A few men lingered nearby, and she shifted closer to the car.

            Minutes later, the man expertly replaced her tire with the spare. He put the jack and the old tire back in her trunk. Inhaling deeply, he approached Sally.

            “Lady, your car smells delicious.”

            Sally blinked. What a strange thing to say. She stared at him for a moment and realization dawned. “Oh, the bread. Yes, I’m taking it to a church supper.”

            The man nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be glad for it.” He shook his head. “Haven’t smelled nothin like that since growing up in my mama’s kitchen.”

            Sally glanced at the soup kitchen behind him. The man followed her gaze. “No fresh baked bread there. In fact, there hasn’t been much there at all since they lost their biggest grant.” He shrugged. “Anyway, you better get where you’re going. Wouldn’t want you to be late.”

            He turned and walked toward the door of the soup kitchen. Something niggled at Sally. She couldn’t let him leave without giving him something. Surely the church supper could do with one less loaf of bread. His words shook her, though. The soup kitchen lost their grant. She called to him. “Wait.”

            He turned, eyebrows raised.

            “Thank you so much for all your help. Would you please take this bread inside? I’d like you and the others to have it.”

            A slow smile spread across his face. “You sure? The church folks won’t miss it?”

            “I’m sure. They’d want you to have it.”

            A sense of joy flooded Sally as she headed to church empty-handed. Maybe the “church folks” would be a little disappointed, but Jesus wouldn’t be.

~*~

            The church supper looked a little different this month. Sally grinned at her fellow church members as they stood in line, dishing out the food they’d brought to the soup kitchen instead of the church. When Sally had told everyone about the soup kitchen losing their grant, the board unanimously agreed to switch their monthly fellowship suppers to a different kind of fellowship. They still got to eat together, but now, each month, they were providing a home-cooked meal to the soup kitchen community. As Sally put her new set of freshly-baked loaves in baskets, a familiar figure approached.

            The man grinned at her. “The bread lady. How’s your tire?”

            Sally grinned back. “It’s all fixed. Thank you again for your help.”

            “I’d a done it for nothing, but that bread was a mighty sweet thank you. He pointed to the loaf she was slicing. “You make that?”

            Sally nodded. “Yes. It’s the same recipe.”

            The man placed two slices on his plate. “Mighty fine thank you, indeed.”

John 6: 26-35

            Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

              Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

             So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

             Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

            “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

            Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” 

God, just as we need physical food to fill our bodies, we need spiritual food to feed our souls. Thank You for sending us Jesus, the true bread from heaven. Help us learn to depend on Him for our continued nourishment. When we’re filled with the bread of life, it is much easier to minister to others. Show us ways we can help others. Help us to truly believe in Jesus and treat others the way He treated them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.