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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