GOSPEL, John 6, 16-21
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
The Bread from Heaven
22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and hearts in order to understand the truth of the Word we have just read. How many times do we seek the God of Truth with falsehood in our hearts. We are hypocrites with God because we seek God, out of personal interest as the Lord says here:
26“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”
How many people are seeking God today, who have been ill and when they are healed, they do not give Him thanks. The Lord asks in Luke (17, 17) 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God?”
Our Lord is a God who wants to feed our spiritual hunger. He wants to be the Lord of our soul and spirit. He is the nourishment we need to strive for daily, food for our faith. To believe and live in Jesus Christ gives us the sustenance, which leads to eternal life.
Let us not seek God out of personal gain but rather in praise and worship for his abundant love and justice.
If we seek the Lord, everything else will be given to us. (Mt 6.33) 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
May the Lord be our all, the centre of our life’s story and may He lead us to recognise our true path…
PRAYER
We give you thanks, Father, for your word that nourishes our faith in Christ, risen for our salvation.Give us today our daily bread, the bread that endures, the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, for it is the only food that can lead us without fear into a future that will never end.