"I am the bread of life,” Jesus tells us in the Gospel today, “whoever comes to me will never hunger.” We come to encounter Jesus in five ways. We experience him in God’s word, proclaimed to our assembly. We see him in those who minister to us at Mass. We realize his presence in each other and collectively as we pray and sing. Most significantly, we receive him in the Eucharist, when we receive the Bread of Life who satisfies our spiritual hunger, nourishing us for the mission he left us.
John sets up this passage of his Gospel by saying that after eating their fill of the miraculous feast of 5000 Jesus provided, the crowd of people were so intent on pursuing him that they sailed across the Sea of Galilee to the village of Capernaum. They had seen at least one of the signs that he had performed and been fed as well, so this made sense. But Jesus immediately redirects their thinking. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” As he had earlier invited the woman at the well to accept the living water only he could provide, Jesus now invites the crowd to accept the Bread of Life he offers. Both the water from the well and the barley loaves can nourish us for only a short time; Jesus can satisfy our hunger and thirst for eternity.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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