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Sir, Give Us This Bread Always






Sir, Give Us this Bread Always
Jn 6:24-35
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, we hear about the crowd who followed Jesus at another side of the lake after they have witnessed the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. This time, they sought Jesus not because they believed in him but because they wanted more of the bread they had so much in abundance. Jesus tells them to seek instead the bread that comes down from heaven that only the Father gives. 

Our reading begins with the crowd finding out that Jesus and his disciples were no longer there with them. So they got into their boats and followed Jesus. They found him in Capernaum, another lakeside town in Galilee.
When Jesus meets the crowd, he immediately discloses to them their intentions, saying: “ Amen, Amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. “ Jesus knew that they were seeking him not because they believed him, but because they wanted to have more of the abundance of the bread, made possible by Jesus.
Jesus then exhorts them to seek something better and more lasting by telling them: “ Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life which the Son of Man will give you. “
The crowd then asked Jesus what else should they do in order to merit any favor from God, saying: “ What can we do to accomplish the works of God? In saying this, the crowd was clearly still fixated in obtaining the bread they were looking for despite Jesus’ exhortation. Jesus then tells them: “ this is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent. “ 
On one hand, the crowd simply wanted once more to relive the abundance they’ve had with the overflowing bread. On the other hand, here was Jesus trying to persuade the crowd to seek a different kind of bread, a bread that will last and one that will not perish; a bread that only him, the Son of Man is able to give.
Jesus then drives his point more closely as he spoke to them about the Scriptures saying: “ It was not Moses who gave 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.”
When finally, they seemed to understand what Jesus was talking about, they begged Jesus : “ Sir, give us this bread always.” Then Jesus finally reveals to them that he is this bread, come down from heaven, given by the Father. He then declares: “ I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

We are often like the crowd who came to Jesus only to seek from him that which is beneficial for the moment. Even in our daily encounters with the Lord, it is still our basic concerns and needs that often take the center stage. Our concerns become the reason why we approach him.
Truly, Jesus can tell us what he told the crowd:  “You come to me not because you saw signs but because you ate and were filled.” We come to Jesus not so much because we believe in him but because we need something from him.
While Jesus doesn’t condemn the crowd for such utilitarian motives, he elevates this need to something higher and even better. He exhorts them to seek food that doesn’t perish; food that the Father gives for the life of the world. In effect, he was telling the crowd to seek and believe him, because he is the food that doesn’t perish; he is the bread for the life of the world, given by the Father.
Believing in Jesus fills and satisfies the very core of our being. This is what he meant when he said that all who come to believe in him shall never experience hunger or thirst. We need only to seek and believe Jesus for who he is.
Just like the crowd who begged Jesus to give them the bread he was talking about, we too need to come to Jesus and beg him: “ Sir, give us this bread always.”
And when Jesus has given us himself as our food, we no longer need to run around like the crowd that was looking for food that only lasts a while. Jesus is the bread of life. He is the bread that satisfies every hungry heart and every human need.  Amen.



“I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."  - Psalm 81: 16

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