By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v25When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”v26Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. v27Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”
v35″I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty. v36Now, I told you that you have seen me but will not believe. (Read: John 6:24-36)
In 1996 I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and spent a month at Saint George’s College in Jerusalem with a sponsored study on the Bible and the Holy Land. One of the biblical places which we visited is a place called Tabgha. This is an area not far from Capernaum and facing the Sea of Galilee with a rolling hill in which lush grasses grow, with numerous trees and palms. There is the famous mosaic of the fish and loaves laid next to a large rock. It is in this rock where Jesus is believed to have stood and blessed the two fishes and the five loaves after which miraculously multiplied and fed 5,000 people with 12 baskets of leftovers. The gospel lesson this Sunday is the continuation of John’s account of Jesus’ earthly ministry in Palestine.
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The people were seeking Jesus. The reason is obvious: Not only do they want to see more miraculous act nor hear of his wonderful words of wisdom, but more than anything else many of those Jesus fed came looking for another of his food catering. Who would not want freebies, especially food for the stomach? Jesus knew what is on their hearts and minds and so he exhorted them saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” Jesus is saying that the people seek him not because they see his acts as signs that he is what he tells them, the Messiah, but because of material gains or worldly interests.
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This story applies to many of us in many situations of life. We chase and work hard for things that won’t endure. How easily we ignore and abandon the seeking of those that can manifest or give eternal life. How often we ‘enrich’ ourselves into spiritual impoverishment. This deep irony is at the heart of the human predicament. This situation of contradictions enriching ourselves,yet we wallow in spiritual poverty, is very real in many present embarrassing human conditions and inclinations. Saint John in our gospel text presents to us several ironies of contradictions of things that should be but are not.
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There are many “seeking” Jesus, but they do not want to “follow” him. The people call him Rabbi or Teacherbut they are not willing to learn. The people clamor after bread, but they do not want to be filled with the bread of life. While the people spend considerable energy locating Jesus, Jesus considers it wasted energy because of wrong reasons. Jesus tells them, “v27Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.” (RSV). This is a lesson people will not easily hear. In truly seeking for Jesus the Christ, we find a gift that is imperishable, the gift of eternal life. But eternal life is not something to be achieved – but to be received by faith in Christ. Eternal life is a gift that is utterly unreachable by any work or program. However, that gift can only be ours if we seek for it and if we are willing to receive it.
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The crowds that sought after Jesus were filled yet starving. They chased after him but were unwilling to follow. They wanted what he would give but were unwilling to give in return. There are many of us today who are like the crowd that followed Jesus. We seek Jesus in prayers yet unwilling to submit our will to His will. We call ourselves Christians, but we do not act in the likeness and statute of Christ. But we may prove ourselves as his disciples instead, by hearing the exhortation and command to work for the bread that lasts, by believing in the One whom God has sent, and by submitting our lives towards the gift of eternal life.
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Jesus offers nourishment, which goes to the heart of our most basic human need to fill a spiritual hunger. Having been created to be in relationship with God, without that connection, we can feel empty.It is an easy move to connect Jesus referring to himself as the Bread of Life to the Eucharist. For in the mystery of the Eucharistic feast we eat the bread and drink the wine, and in so doing we partake of the body and blood of Jesus. Our service is always centered on the celebration of the Last Supper, the remembrance of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. The receiving of his body and blood. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the wafer (bread) and wine after the prayer of consecration, actually becomes the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, transubstantiation. In the Anglican tradition, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present in the elements – thus becoming his Body and Blood. We receive it not only to be nourished spiritually, but also to be like him. “You are what you eat!” so they say. So, if we (always) eat of the Body and Blood of Jesus, then the more that we should be like him!
Jesus said to them, and he is now saying to us, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”
Let us pray.
When the journey is long
and we hunger and thirst,
Bread of Life, you sustain us.
When the road is hard
and our bodies weak
Bread of Life, you heal us.
When our spirits are low
and we can’t carry on
Bread of Life, you revive us.
When we offer our hand
in love and in service
Bread of life, you bless us.
When the challenge is great
and the workers are few
Bread of Life, you empower us.
When the victory is won
and we see your face
Bread of Life, you will rejoice with us!
(https://www.faithandworship.com)
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your
help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 13 Collect, BCP)***
