 One of the keys to this first I AM saying is that the group consciousness of the past is being replaced by a new consciousness of individual responsibility. |
Nourishing ourselves with Christ
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
One of the keys to this first I AM saying is that the group consciousness of the past is being replaced by a new consciousness of individual responsibility. Much of Chapter 6 compares the past to the future.
When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst”. John 6:25-35
Manna in the wilderness was good enough for our forefathers but it won’t work now. Manna from heaven worked then but it won’t work now. We must now nourish ourselves through our individual I, we can no longer be nourished by group consciousness.
It is interesting to observe group consciousness. If we ask people how they enjoy spending their time we discover that it is often with workmates and friends, whereas it used to be with family. Or they may say at the pub or a sporting event – these are group conscious substitutes. Careful observation of society reveals that people are afraid to take hold of their own individuality. They just move from one group consciousness to another and pretend that they are expressing their individuality. In fact the governments of the world have labelled these things titty-tainment. A way to keep the masses pacified so that they don’t cause trouble.
Even among those of us who are developing ourselves spiritually we can see the difficultly of expressing our I AM. If we were able to then harmony would prevail. When harmony does not prevail the pseudo I AM, the astral, tries to establish its position; its hallmark is disharmony.
Bread inherently has a self-raising force; yeast that can rise above the simple material elements. Jesus says that the I AM is this bread; the grain, rooted in the earth, growing in the air warmed by the sun, then mixed with water and a raising ingredient. The I AM is this bread of life. He is referring to the highest expression of the I AM, which is Christ as John points out in John 20.
So John is emphasising that Christ is food and we must feed on him. If we take this bread into us we receive life from it. Unless we give our I AM its rightful place in our being we will always remain hungry. This is the yearning we see all around us. People know that there is manna to be eaten, but they think it will come from heaven, from outside, as a gift. They don’t realise that the manna is within them and only through their own effort can they unwrap it and eat it.
The media constantly reminds us that people are overweight, unfit, eating the wrong food amidst a confusion of retracted statements about what is the wrong or right food. Is this a sign of the yearning for this real food? Christ food? Can you imagine going to a restaurant and ordering for a main course “Christ”? … grilled!
This paints a picture of the urgency in the world to realise that Christ is our food, the only food that will satisfy us. We come to the table to eat of him every time we give thanks for the food we eat and every time we prayerfully prepare our food. These are the thoughts that will reveal his presence and his power.
Bread and Circuses
Thanks for this Kristina - I had not heard of titty-tainment before but I have known what it is for a long time!
I guess you are pointing to a fact we are all familiar with nowadays... that we often consume one thing or another externally (entertainment, food, drugs, being in a group) to hide a more fundamental longing or spiritual hunger in us that these things can never satisfy.