Bread, Not Alone

“The Captain looked at Fermina Daza and saw on her eyelashes the first glimmer of wintry frost. Then he looked at Florentino Ariza, his invincible power, his intrepid love, and he was overwhelmed by the belated suspicion that it is life, more than death, that has no limits.” 

― Gabriel García Márquez, "Love in the Time of Cholera"

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Dear Kate,

"One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."  Jesus spoke these words as the words (from Deuteronomy) were spoken through him in his temptation.

How do you understand these words?  What do they mean?

Before you think back on one of the many sermons you must have heard or consult the commentary of "experts," what do you think, what can you observe?  The words were meant for everyone, not just sermonizers and scholars.

"Every word that comes from the mouth of God," what is it?

Is it a metaphor that points to something else, with a thin, transparent veil between the subject and object, a "poetically speaking" about the "mysterious"?  A metonymy that stands in for maybe something more substantial and, thus, consequential?  Or is it a sort of discursive, scientific language to describe some readily observable cause-and-effect?

I will let you think about that.  These are words with power that are meant to speak to us personally, our reading of and pondering on them not a task for anyone to contract out.

No matter how you come to understand them, these words were speaking about life and death of "one"---a human being.  It is not a suggestion, not a good-to-know, not a nice-work-if-you-can-get-it, but a proclamation.  Of judgement and promise.  A description of despair and a prescription of hope.

Last night I finished reading "Love in the Time of Cholera" for the third time, this time took me weeks.  I chewed on every word.  The twice before I understood not a word of it, too young to know, too proud to read, too good with words to know any.  My hands were trembling as I closed the book of longing, ready for death, and if gifted again, life.

"Every time someone tells a story and tells it well, the gospel is served," Eugene Peterson said.

I laid the book on my bedside table and sighed out a deep Amen.

Yours, Alex