Faith is not something that is our own initiative. Jesus tells us that much on a number of occasions but in John 6, Jesus is explicit about how the Father draws us. It is the Lord’s doing. And that is a message of wonderful comfort to us who can fall into despair.
Elijah was such a man who needed comfort. He was in despair so it appears even after that wonderful event at Mount Carmel. Jezebel wants him dead. Elijah flees and heads out to the wilderness. The wilderness is not a place to go alone. In the Old Testament, the wilderness is considered a place of testing, you might like to think of as spiritual testing. Elijah’s own feelings lead him to cry out to the Lord, effectively begging the Lord to take his life because he was no better than his fathers (other prophets). Elijah is not seeing the Word of the Lord converting the hearts of his hearers. So he is tired and worn out.
Elijah receives comfort from the very Angel of the LORD. I like to think this is the 2nd Person of the Trinity, in his Pre-Incarnate state. We also need to remember the blessing of this food. The cake (or bread) is not made by man. Man was supposed to eat bread by the sweat of his brow. This bread is made by the Son, for the strengthening of Elijah’s faith and also his body. For later at Horeb, the Lord is gracious to him telling him that Elijah’s preaching is not in vain. 7000 were kept safe from bowing down to Baal.
The Sacrament of the Altar is for the weak and despairing needing to be strengthened by the Words of Jesus, specifically “for you”. We are indeed weak, and the christian walk under the cross is too great for us to go it alone. Jesus tells us that much too in our reading from John 6. We don’t initiate or activate our faith. We don’t initiate our coming to Jesus. And we don’t initiate the strengthening of our faith either, rather we are drawn and gathered around the living bread of heaven which came down from heaven being sent by the Father. And who the Father gives to his Son the Son will never cast out. What peace and comfort we have in the coming of this Jesus, our bread of life.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO
See also: The Man of God When there Few: Elijah | Bread from Heaven Five Ways
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