The bread of life
John 6:22-29
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THE crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with His disciples in the boat, but only His disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found Him across the sea they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "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. 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." So they said to Him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent."
The Word
"Food that endures for eternal life" — The basic nourishment for the human body is food and drink. John presents Jesus as offering to the people something that transcends their basic physical need. To the woman of Samaria who asks for water other than what she can fetch from Jacob’s well, Jesus offers "a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (Jn 4:14). He who drinks this water that Jesus will give will not be thirsty again. Here in the gospel, Jesus offers to the people who have eaten of the loaves and fish He had multiplied "food" (Greek brsis) that endures for eternal life. Just as one who drinks water that He offers will not be thirsty again, so the one who eats the food that Jesus gives will not be hungry anymore.
In contrast with the bread that can satisfy the hungry stomach, the food of Jesus satisfies the deeper hunger of the human person. Food for the belly is perishable food, good for earthly life that ends with death. But the food which Jesus offers is nourishment for another kind of life — life with God which finds its fullness in the life beyond death. This is "eternal life."
But eternal life is not just a reality beyond this earth. "Eternal" already characterizes this present life anchored in faith and love of Jesus, and in living His commandment of love. Eternal life is the life in the age to come, yet it begins as a person is baptized in Christ, knows Him, and bears witness to Him. This life is already characterized by the tension of the "already" and the "not yet."
SOURCE: "365 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
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