In today's Gospel Reading (John 6:24-35), we see how Jesus shepherds us to satisfy our deepest desire as he begins his Living Bread of Life Discourse.
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Last Sunday, we began reading from John 6 for the
Gospel Reading and reflected on not only
how the divine power in Jesus works on what we can find have but also how we
should appreciate grace from God and share, rather than keeping it to
ourselves, so that its benefit can be multiplied (John 6:1-15). Then, we bypass
John 6:16-23, which is the episode of the disciples witnessing Jesus walking on
the surface of the Sea of Galilee, as they were moving away from the crowd by
sailing after feeding them miraculously out of five loaves and two fish, as we
focus on how Jesus responded to the reaction of the crowd’s continuous pursuit
of Jesus after being fed, in our continuation to read from John 6 for Sunday
Gospel Readings.
Today (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
Cycle B ), as we read from John 6:24-35, it is noted that the crowd did not
seem to understand Jesus’ intent of feeding them out of five loaves and two
fish. So, when crowd caught up with Jesus in their pursuit of him, he
confronted them with these words:
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 (John 6:26).
It is like Jesus telling, “Hey, I know what’s on
your mind. You keep following me because you think I would feed you again
because of signs I have performed”.
It seemed that the crowd regarded Jesus simply as a
generous man with some kind of miraculous power at that time.
Obviously, they needed some enlightenment from
Jesus. So, now Jesus began to “feed” them not on their stomachs but on their
hearts and souls with the Word out of his mouth – in his kerygma.
And this is how Jesus’ “Living Bread of Life
Discourse” began:
Do
not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his
seal
(John 6:27).
With the above statement to begin his discourse on
what is really essential to sustain life to eternity, as to echo what he said
during the Sermon on the Mount: Store up heavenly treasures for ourselves
rather than earthly which are subject to decay and loss (Matthew 6:19). Jesus
first reminded the crowd that they need to work for the food that endures for
eternal life, only given by Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, who is
commissioned by the Father to give this food. Jesus knew that the crowd kept
chasing him all the way to another shore of the Sea of Galilee, because they
thought that he might feed them with bread and fish everyday, as long as they
find him. And, Jesus was reminding them that they misunderstood him. In other
words, Jesus cannot be reduced to a nice social welfare program worker to
deliver free meals for the poor.
What Jesus wanted the crowd to understand is that he
did not come to this world to run a social welfare program. God the Father did
not sent His only begotten Son to the earth as a social worker. Rather, he came
to the earth as the way to lead people to eternal life –as the Good Shepherd to
lead his flock to the heavenly banquet (John 10:10-11; cf. Psalm 23:1-5; cf.
John 14:6).
But, in order to be benefited from the kind of food that
endures for eternal life, given by Jesus, we must do our part – do our work. We
cannot just keep chasing him with a wrong intention to enjoy this benefit of
Jesus’ intent.
So, the crowd eagerly asked Jesus, “What can we do to accomplish the works of
God?” (John 6:28).
Aha! Now the crowd was engaging with Jesus,
listening to him and trying to gain wisdom from him, rather than just bread and
fish.
So, Jesus said:
This
is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent (John 6:29).
In other words, Jesus was reminding them that
nothing will work unless they truly believe in the one, for whom they work.
Jesus wants us to know that our faith in him is the absolutely necessary
foundation for our work for God to attain the benefit of the food that endures
for eternal life. Working hard without faith means working futilely, thus,
locking us in a vicious cycle of seeking perishable food from day to day until
we die.
Jesus wants us to understand that he was sent by the
Father to shepherd us out of this vicious cycle of worries and anxieties for
our day-to-day survival, because where he leads us is, as hinted in the above
statement, eternal life.
The crowd said to Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?”(John
6:30).
The crowd’s mind shifted from a “what can we do?”
mode to a “what can you do for us?” mode, once again, expecting Jesus to
perform another sign or so for them.
They continued with these words, referring to what
is reflected in the First Reading (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15), “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread
from heaven to eat’”(John 6:31).
What was in the crowd’s mind here? Perhaps, they
were thinking Jesus as another Moses to intercede to God to rain down manna
from heaven for them – so that they would not starve for the next 40 years, as
the Israelite enjoyed this bread from heaven for 40 years as they journeyed on
in the desert.
Was Jesus another Moses?
Listen to what Jesus said, in response:
Amen,
amen, I say to you, 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 comes from
heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:32-33).
The crowd demanded Jesus to give them this bread of
God that comes from heaven to give life to the world (John 6:34).
Jesus continued on saying:
I
am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever
believes in me will never thirst (John 6:35).
Jesus can be regarded as anther Moses or new Moses (i.e. Matthew 5:17-48; cf. Exodus 35:1-36:1). However, in regard to feeding and nourishing us for our sustenance, Jesus’ role is different from Moses’ during these 40 years of Exodus, as you can see from the above words of Jesus.
Given Jesus’ these words, “it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you
the true bread from heaven”(John 6:32), to the crowd, it seemed that they
had thought that Moses fed the Israelites during the Exodus. Jesus made sure
that the one who provided the bread from heaven was the Father. And, Jesus also led them to the truth that he
is not another Moses, who intercedes to the Father on their behalf, to bring
down the bread from heaven to feed them for the next 40 years. What Jesus
really wanted them to understand is that he himself is the very bread from
heaven, for which he identifies himself with “I AM” statement , as the Bread of
Life (John 6:35a). Furthermore, Jesus assured that whoever seeks him, who is the
Bread of Life, will be free from hunger and thirst (John 6:35b).
So, is Jesus second Moses to feed hungry people for
40 years?
Obviously not.
Then, who is he?
He is the Bread of Life to free us from a repetitive
cycle of hunger and thirst (John 6:35), not just a giver of bread or an
intercessor to bring bread from heaven. He himself is the Bread of Life that
endures for eternal life.
The Second Reading (Ephesians 4:17, 20-24) tells us
that we cannot understand what Jesus was telling the crowd about the Bread of
Life for eternal life, to keep us free from hunger and thirst, if we think like
pagans. If we truly believe in him (John 6:29) and embrace him not as another
Moses but as the Bread of Life for eternal life (John 6:35), then, we are
living as new beings, in holiness of truth and righteousness, as renewed by the
Holy Spirit, leaving old way of corrupted life behind (Ephesians 4:20-24). And
this is how we live as those who believe in Jesus, as our Bread of Life.
Now, we no longer ask, “What is this?”, as the Israelites during Exodus did to Moses
(Exodus 16:15), in regard to the food that endures for eternal life, only given
by Jesus (John 6:27), who is, indeed, the Bread of Life to free us from hunger
and thirst, as we believe in him (John 6:35). We do not have to ask this question
because we no longer live an old way but renewed way in righteousness and holiness
of truth (Ephesians 4:22-24).
We will continue to read the rest of John 6 and
reflect how Jesus’ Living Bread of Life Discourse will unfold for the next 3
Sundays to come. It is because Jesus is shepherding us to a new Christological
insight on how he can satisfy our deepest desire, as we are renewed by the Holy
Spirit and have become new beings for eternal life.
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