He is Still the Bread of Life

Jesus’ words found in John 6:25-69, often referred to by the scholars as the “Bread of Life discourse” is about faith. In these verses Jesus defines and describes faith and its source. Jesus’ use of bread, his body and his blood evoked and still evokes faith in him and unbelief.

Jesus asked his audience to consider the act of eating. People generally eat to satisfy hunger. They take a slice or piece of bread and put it to their lips. With their mouths they bite a piece off the slice, chew it and then swallow it. By the physical act of eating, they incorporate the bread into their bodies. The food, that was once outside of them, literally becomes one with them and it gives them the fuel necessary to live their lives.

Jesus asked them to consider that physical hunger was a metaphor for, or pointed them to, spiritual hunger. He reminded them that spiritual hunger was as real as physical hunger. Jesus asked them to consider whether their spiritual hunger had brought them to him. Their spiritual hunger was caused by questions they had: Was Jesus the long-awaited Messiah? Would the Messiah establish a kingdom on this earth in their time? Would the Messiah save them from death? They came to Jesus in anticipation. Could he answer these questions? Could his words satisfy their spiritual hunger?

Jesus’ response to their questions was that he was the Bread of Life that had to be eaten. Jesus kept inviting them to eat his flesh and drink his blood.   If his words were taken literally, he had invited them to eat his physical body and drink his physical blood. How could they eat his flesh and drink his blood? They wondered whether Jesus was demanding that they engage in cannibalism. God had forbidden the eating and drinking of blood in Genesis 9:4. The law given by Moses plainly prohibited the consumption of blood. See Leviticus 3:17 & 17:13 and Deuteronomy 12:16 & 12:23. These words became disgusting to them. Their response to Jesus’ words was logical. Reason could not grasp what Jesus was saying. His words intensified not satisfied their spiritual hunger. The hungrier one gets the more belligerent one becomes. Many would-be disciples walked away from Jesus confused, disappointed and even disgusted. His detractors would have been more convinced that Jesus was not a “man of God.”

Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. For many “faith,” the complete trust and confidence in someone or something, is an act of free will on the part of a person. A person intentionally decides to completely trust in and have confidence in someone or something. This is what is some of the Jews and would-be disciples that had gathered around Jesus were trying to do. They were trying to make sense of what Jesus was saying. They wanted to get their heads around what he was preaching so that they could logically assent to Jesus’ words. Their attempt to mentally assent as an act of free will failed miserably. Try as they might, all they heard was that Jesus was asking them to do the impossible (be cannibals) and at the same time break God’s law.   Words from Luther’s explanation to the Third Article to the Apostles Creed come to mind: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.”

For those who had remained and were willing to hear his words Jesus made a powerful statement about faith. Like bread physical, that had to be eaten in order to satisfy hunger and provide fuel for life, Jesus’ words have taken into the mind of the disciple, so that his words can satisfy the disciple’s spiritual hunger, give life to the believer and create faith and trust in Jesus in the disciple’s mind. The trust and confidence that is created by Jesus’ words in the mind of the disciple is this: Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, indivisibly divine and human at one and the same time. His body and his blood were given as a sacrifice to God on behalf of the whole world. The sins of the world can be forgiven by the shedding of the blood of God’s only Son. Jesus would die a sacrificial death so that he could be resurrected from the dead. All who believe as Savior, King and Messiah will have eternal life. This saving faith comes from outside of us, from the words of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. (John 6:63)
Luther’s words come to mind once more. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith.”

The Lord speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures. Our prayer should be that God create in us a hunger for the word and deep desire to hear, read, learn them and thereby make the Scriptures our own in such a way that the enduring benefit and comfort of the word will help us to grasp and hold the blessed hope of eternal life.
In Christ
Pastor Ed Skutshek, President

Ontario Pastor Fired After Coming Out as Transgendered Files a Lawsuit Against Baptist Church

In 2014 Rev. Joplin, pictured above, accepted a call as lead pastor at Lorne Park Baptist Church of Mississauga, Ontario. Rev. Joplin presented as a man at the beginning of this pastoral charge. Joplin alleges that from 2014 to the present he had "pursued a progressive and LGBTQ+ inclusive ministry" with the church's support.

Like most churches in Mississauga, during the pandemic, Lorne Park’s worship went virtual. In an online sermon delivered during 2020, Rev. Joplin came out as transgendered. The sermon emphasized embracing truth. On June 14^th Joplin announced:

"God has a way of guiding you … to the moment where you can't do anything but speak your big, risky truth, no matter how much trouble it gets you in."

It ended with Joplin sharing her truth. She announced:

"I'm not just supposed to be just a pastor. I'm supposed to be a woman. Hi, friends. Hi, family. My name is Junia. You can call me June. I am a transgender woman and my pronouns are she and her."

Joplin alleged that after coming out as transgendered she received support from some members of the Lorne Park congregation and other Baptist churches and organizations. However, Joplin’s claim alleges that days following the sermon, the church unilaterally suspended her from her duties and gave no date for her return.

Church leadership initiated a process for attempting to discern God's will. A series of virtual townhall meetings were held. Congregants were given the opportunity to ask questions of their pastor. Joplin was asked to answer what she called "difficult and (in many cases) deeply personal" questions regarding her transition, her coming out, and the possible impact of those things on the church and its members, her lawsuit alleges.

A congregational meeting was held in July of 2020 to determine Joplin’s fate. Fifty-eight (or 52.25%) of the 111 congregational members present at the meeting voted to end her employment. Fifty of the 58 who voted in favor of termination declared it was "fully or in part" due to a religious belief.

Joplin’s lawsuit, which seeks nearly $200,000 in damages, alleges the church breached the Human Rights Code of Ontario, which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, sex and other grounds." Joplin argues that the Baptist Denomination that oversees Lorne Park has ordained women to the ministry for more than 70 years, therefore, the congregation discriminated against Joplin based on sexual identity.

The church argues the Human Right’s Code provides that the church is able to hire employees based upon the church’s creed or deeply held religious beliefs. The church argues that Pastor Joplin’s actions conflict with their deeply held beliefs, thereby justifying their action.

We must keep the leadership of Lorne Park Baptist Church and those who voted for the termination of Pastor Joplin’s call in our prayers. They have an uphill battle to fight. The church’s intentional ministry to LGBTQ+ people calls into question whether the church’s creeds, doctrines and statements of faith will show a deeply held conviction that the Rev. Joplin’s transition is in direct violation of the congregation’s creed and doctrines.

12th Sunday After Pentecost

Ontario Pastor Fired After Coming Out as Transgendered Files a Lawsuit Against Baptist Church