Today’s
Gospel Text:
So when the people saw
that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats
and went to Caper'na-um, seeking 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,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but
because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do
not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the
Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to him,
"What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him,
"Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do
you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna
in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from
heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is
that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him,
"Lord, give us this bread always." 35Jesus said to them, "I am the
bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me
shall never thirst. John
6:24-35
Reflection: Could
it be possible that we humans tend to value our stomachs more than anything in
the world?
I
would have my doubts; in our day to day life, are we really dealing with people
who have this in mind?
In
the light of this question, what Jesus says in the gospel text above, is
shocking: “"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not
because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do
not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the
Father set his seal." (vs. 26-27)
I can’t imagine a crowd
following Jesus, just because they ate the bread and more so after seeing
the mighty signs. One reason why they
must have not valued the person Jesus and the sign he performed was on account
of the type of sign; that of feeding the multitudes with a satisfying portion
of loaves.
Yet it is no excuse for
anyone to seek the food more than the message or the person.
If anyone thinks that it happened
then and does not happen now, then we are being foolish. And if anyone reasons
out that since there are no miracles of the multiplication of the bread (not
that there are no such miracles) and hence such a thing food centered behavior is
not repeatable, then one is again walking in foolishness.
Anyone of us could fall in
this category and not necessarily the ones who join the various denominations. They
have heard the prosperity Gospel and have remained there with only this miracle
to their credit or waiting for the miracle to take place in their lives, some
even after a heavy dose of tithing.
There are also among these
the many Catholic who think godliness is a means for worldly gains (1Tim. 6:5).
So they pray and turn to God or the
saints only when there is a need or pray for prosperity, health and wealth with
no sense of Dedication to Jesus or his gospel.
Prayer: In
all my blessings and daily miracles of life, let me give you praise with a
joyful heart, for you are a God who provides.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
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