Reflections on the Bread of Life Discourse

Last Sunday we started reflecting on the Bread of Life Discourse, as written in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John.

We saw how Jesus fed a large crowd of about five thousand men, not yet counting the women and children, with only five loaves of bread and two fish to start with. Five loaves and two fish appeared too little, in fact insignificant, compared to the enormity of the need to feed this great number of people. Yet when brought from the hand of a young boy to the hand of Jesus, these humble provisions were multiplied into such a huge amount, so much so that the entire crowd was fully fed, and still leave fragments that filled in twelve wicker baskets.

The impossible became possible because of a miracle from God. When ordered to feed the people, the apostles, who at first saw the problem of not having enough food, wanted to send the people home. What they did not realize was that they were receiving instructions from their master, Jesus, who was not only man but also God – the all-powerful God who created everything by his word.

Jesus could have performed the miracle by commanding bread and fish to come into existence from nothing, yet he chose to work by honoring the charity of a young lad who offered to share the little food he had with the vast crowd. In the hands of the boy, the food was too little, but put in the hands of God, the little turns into much, and the modest into grand.

In this Sunday’s gospel (John 6:24-35) we see the continuation of this beautiful story. The people whom Jesus fed kept pursuing him, even crossing the sea in search for him. But when they saw Jesus, the Lord said to them, “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

How many times have we been like these people? We pursue Jesus, yes, but why? Do we seek him because we would like to worship him as God, or just because he had worked a miracle in our lives and we want to receive something more? Do we pray to adore him, thank him, and ask for forgiveness for our sins, or do we simply petition him to grant us our unlimited needs and wants?

God is more than willing to supply us all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). He in fact knows what we need even before we ask him (Matthew 6:8). Just as he multiplied the bread and the fish in our gospel, or rained manna and provided quail to the journeying Israelites in the First Reading (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15), so can he work miracles in any sphere of our lives – jobs, livelihood, finances and other material needs, health and healing, relationships, emotional distress, safety and security, etc. But lest we forget, the purpose of any miracle, or any answered prayer in that regard, is to point towards the Giver of gifts and not just on the gift itself.

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you,” Jesus tells the crowd. In the same vein should we seek not only for the satisfaction of our temporal needs, but for also for the eternal destination of our souls. Our cares and concerns in this passing world seem to be unlimited; yes they are, but only up to or last breath. What would really last is what happens to us in the next life.

Are we heading towards eternal life in heaven or eternal damnation in hell? Our destiny depends on our faith in the Son of God. Perhaps the most popular verse in the Bible, John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

Salvation is God’s greatest gift to us, and it is available in Jesus. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Let us then come to Jesus who, in this Sunday’s gospel, declares, “”I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).