Bread Of Heaven, On Thee We Feed
Bread of Heaven, on Thee We Feed
Bread of heaven, on Thee we feed,
For Thy Flesh is meat indeed;
Ever may our souls be fed
With this true and living Bread;
Day by day with strength supplied,
Through the life of Him who died.
Vine of heaven, Thy Blood supplies
This blest cup of sacrifice;
Lord, Thy wounds our healing give,
To Thy cross we look and live:
Jesus, may we ever be
Grafted, rooted, built in Thee.
THIS IS A COMMUNION HYMN, and Communion has been one of the most divisive issues in Christendom. Do the bread and wine merely represent the body and blood of Christ, or is there some mystical way in which they are the body and blood? Is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper to remind us of our Lord’s sacrifice or somehow to welcome us into participation with it?
This hymn steers clear of the controversial areas and centers on Christ Himself. Whatever the Lord’s Supper is or means, it is part of our whole interaction with Christ. We take the bread in the church service, but we enjoy our “daily bread” every time Christ provides the strength or wisdom we need. We drink the wine of Communion, but we also rejoice in the benefits of His death. We are healed by His wounds. And as a growing tree derives nourishment from its deep roots, so we find sustenance as we are rooted in Christ.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. . . . I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:32, 35
From the book
