SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – John 6:24-35.
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. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 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. 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.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who 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.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
POINTERS FOR PRAYER
1. Jesus distinguishes between food that gives quick satisfaction and food that gives lasting nourishment. It is a mark of wisdom to be able to say ‘no’ to enticing but delusory attractions in order to choose things of lasting value. From your life experience what advice would you give to another about where things of lasting value are to be found?
2. Jesus reminds his listeners that God is the source of all good things. What difference does it make in your life when you are aware that life, the world, everything you have is gift, and you live in a spirit of gratitude?
3. The work of God is that we believe in the one whom God has sent. In what ways has your faith in Jesus enriched and changed your life? How has Jesus satisfied your hungers or quenched your thirsts? Is it the idea that we are loved by God?
These people are at a crossroads and are trying to read their own hearts — in order to discern what do they really desire deep down. This question stands are the heart of today’s Gospel: “what must we do to do the works of God?”
This is a very good question and a deep one. It takes the question what do I want out of life to a deeper level, a level of faith. Not so much what do I want or even what do I desire but what does God desire of me? Perhaps we don’t often think of it that way…what are God’s hopes for me? What kind of person does God wish me to become? It is also important not to rush in with an answer but to stay with the question for as long as it takes. It may seem strange, but we don’t easily or quickly read our own hearts.