Food That Brings Life

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐜 𝟕:𝟓𝟏-𝟖:𝟏𝐚

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟏:𝟑𝐜𝐝-𝟒, 𝟔-𝟕𝐛, 𝟖𝐚, 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟏𝐚𝐛 “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟔:𝟑𝟎-𝟑𝟓

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞…” (𝐯.𝟑𝟓) 

The stubbornness of the Jews is clearly visible in today’s Gospel passage as they press on Jesus to give them a sign to prove his authority. What is surprising is that this encounter between the Jews and Jesus happened only a few days after the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 in Bethsaida.

           This encounter makes me wonder how we too could have reacted have we been there. Yes, we were witnesses when Jesus turned five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish into a feast that fed a multitude. What happened to our ancestors who ate manna from heaven remain etched in our minds. And surely, it was but natural that we need a sign that Jesus could do something even greater – like providing us bread every day – for us to believe that he indeed is the Son of Man.

           This is when this ordinary encounter shifted to a higher level when Jesus declares Himself to be the “Bread of Life.” While the Jews did not yet know what it truly meant, this was a spiritual necessity that was far greater than physical bread.  

           Today’s Gospel passage brings us to a realization of the stark contrast between physical desire and spiritual needs as well as the difference between seeing signs and truly believing in the incarnate Word.

The attitude of the Jews depicted in this Gospel passage for today is typical of those who believe in the righteousness of their actions and who could not gather the courage to accept there is someone wiser and more religious than them.

          While it would be easy to conclude that humility was not among the virtues the Jews practiced in the time of Jesus we should also keep in mind that they were coming from their understanding they were the chosen race and that they hold the first option when it comes to relationship with God primarily because of the Mosaic law which the Jews have kept close to their hearts.

          It was thus natural for the people to ask Jesus for a sign even if they have just witnessed a great miracle in the multiplication of the five barley loaves and two small fish. But to them, feeding 5,000 people in a one-day event cannot be compared to the time when God provided the Israelites with food to eat for 40 years when he led them out of Egypt (𝐄𝐱𝐨 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟓).

          This miracle that provided the Israelites with manna from heaven was a sign of God’s faithfulness that cemented the bond between God and the Israelites and nothing else can compare with it. However, if you would look closely at these two events – the manna that the Israelites fed on for 40 years and the feeding of the 5,000 – we will see that in both instances the Jews could not make out what these happenings were.

          In fact, the Jews also asked each one the question ‘What is it?’ when God gave them ‘manna’ for food and this is the Hebrew meaning of manna because they simply didn’t understand where it came from.

Since it was a miraculous event that brought blessings to the Israelites, the word ‘manna’ has been terribly abused and it is now referred to as an unexpected blessing or an opportunity that suddenly arose where one can derive a profit.

          This was why to the Israelites nothing can come close to their having survived for 40 years with food that God provided them much less a one-time event even if some 5,000 people were fed.

On the other hand, it was also probable that even the religious leaders who witnessed the multiplication of the loaves and fish could be thinking of at least considering this as a miracle and they just wanted to be sure which was why they asked Jesus for a sign in the same way that their forefathers asked ‘what is it?’ when God gave them food from heaven.

          And for us to clearly understand the beauty of this passage today which is considered as one of the great passages in John’s Gospel we must try to savor the meaning of each word that came out of the lips of Jesus when he said: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞; 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟓)        

The Jews who were asking for a sign did not understand what Jesus said at this time and they wouldn’t until his death and resurrection. Jesus was speaking of a future event that the Jews couldn’t grasp. Even if Jesus spoke of bread which to the Jews meant life-giving because it sustains life they still could not or would not understand.

          But Jesus in this passage was talking of life to mean the relationship between God and man, a relationship that is rooted in trust in God, obedience to God and love of God of which such relationship can only be made possible through Jesus Christ. This means that people may exist and survive even if they do not know and accept Jesus, but they will not have life.

          And here Jesus made a claim that only God can make because the bread that Our Lord is offering is none other than the life and presence of God in the soul of man. While we certainly may not be aware of it, God is present and continues to work in each and everyone of us until we come to that realization of who he is.

In other words, God is present in the human process as we go through life and life itself becomes more meaningful if we can cultivate a closer relationship with Our Creator.

          The manna that the people ate in ancient times may have sustained the Israelites but it did not give them eternal life and what Jesus was telling the Jews and is telling us now that: “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝." (𝐯.𝟑𝟑)

And if only the Jews opened their hearts and minds to that event in the River Jordan when the heavens opened and God spoke “𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝” they would have understood as we do now that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

          The bread that Jesus offered to his disciples and which he is offering to us now is what will allow us to live supernatural lives that will sustain us in our journey towards the Heavenly Kingdom. The beauty of our faith is that we are given the opportunity to really feel the presence of God’s encompassing love when we unite ourselves with Christ at the Table of Grace when we become partakers of his Divine Life in the Holy Eucharist.

          𝑺𝒕. 𝑰𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒄𝒉 describes the Holy Eucharist as the “𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕.” This supernatural food is what brings healing to our body and soul and perseverance for our journey of faith.

         This is why our hearts must be filled with gratitude to God for sending His Son to become our bread of life. In the same way, we must thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for offering Himself to be our source of life who alone satisfies the hunger in our hearts. And this life is available to all, but which is premised on our believing in him and to believe in him is to put all our trust in Him, obey Him and love Him.

          This process of complete submission is what gives us life because our yielding to Christ paves the way for us to have a relationship with God who not only leads us towards our heavenly goal, but he also removes from our hearts the rebellion and pride that stifles our desire to submit to him.

To submit to Jesus Christ is to unite our hearts and minds with the Church which is his body. And as we receive him through our reception of the Holy Eucharist this unity is firmed up with the commingling of our body with His own body and blood and with the rest of the believers.

          We deprive ourselves of the glory of an eternal life if we will refuse the bread that he offers that will unite us with Jesus who alone can give us life in the real sense. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 21, 2026)