You Cannot Live on Bread Alone - September 13
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65; 1 Kings 21:1-16; 1 Cor. 1:1-19; Matt. 4:1-11
These past two years, I enjoyed learning more about cycling. I usually ride a few times a week and on random Saturdays will find time to get outside for a few hours. Saturday was one of those days with an organized group ride by the local cycling community. The ride included several rest stops along the way, much-needed opportunities to recharge and refuel.
One stop was on top of a large ridge. We had just finished climbing Walker’s Gap in Springville Alabama, an over eight-hundred-foot climb in less than two miles to find an incredible view and more importantly several pop-up tents and tables full of pickle juice, Gatorade, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, candy bars, fruit, twinkies, and more. I felt like I had arrived in the Promise Land. I set my bike down and went to town feasting on a little of all that was available. (Feasting on everything except the pickle juice. That is another story!)
What I really learned this past Saturday was more about nutrition. I was able to push through more miles than before thanks to all of the stops and opportunities to load my body with calories. All of this was necessary to push further and further, and when I crossed the finish line that afternoon, filled with a sense of accomplishment, that accomplishment was shared with the volunteers and support along the way who helped push the cyclists beyond what they were capable on their own.
Food or calories fuel our bodies. Never is this more apparent than when engaged in lengthy physical activity. Maybe that is why these words from Matthew’s Gospel stand out when Jesus is being tempted in the desert, and Jesus is told that he has the power to turn stones into bread. Jesus is famished and the bread will give him the strength to push on. The Scriptures say he has been fasting for forty days and forty nights. I’m guessing that is worse than Walker’s Gap, and Jesus is ready for food. And yet the response he offers is “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The irony of writing this reflection, or of you reading it, is likely you already know this. I hope that as you have found these daily reflections, they have deepened your own engagement with Holy Scripture. I’m sure you don’t always agree with what is written, but maybe that sends you to click on the link for the corresponding Scripture and you find something else that speaks to you, challenges or comforts you, or aids you in your daily walk of life.
Maybe there are others in your life who feel spiritually famished. Life has presented its own series of challenges and climbs and what seems best is for a giant rest stop or a break. I’m willing to double down and suggest that won’t work in the long run. We need God’s word to make sense of our lives. Even Paul’s message this morning suggests the same. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: What is your practice of reading Scripture? Do you have a daily or weekly practice? What are ways that practice impacts your life?
Daily Challenge: Read the Scriptures appointed for today. There are links below the reading. This reflection referenced the 1 Corinthians and Matthew readings.