Beginning last week, we have been taking a five week break from the Gospel of Mark and spending time in the Gospel of John on the teachings of Jesus which are called the Bread of Life Discourse. Last week we read about the feeding of the 5000 and reflected on what it means for us today. Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the loaves and fishes story we began last week. Jesus fed the crowd and amazed them by His miracles. After that miracle and a day of teaching, Jesus and the apostles went away across the lake to get a little rest and privacy, but the people who had witnessed the miracle went searching for Him and found Him on the other side of the lake. Instead of being angry with them, Jesus continues to teach them. He tells them first that it wasn’t the signs and miracles that attracted them, as much as the fact they were being fed. He says that they should be less interested in filling their bellies with food that quickly disappears, and instead, look for spiritual food which will never leave them. When they ask what they must do to get this spiritual food, Jesus replies that they must believe in the person God has sent; that they must believe in Him and reveals to them that He is the Bread of Life. God has sent Him to be for us all the spiritual food that we will ever need. They then ask him for signs so they that they can believe in Him-even though He had just fed the 5,000! They then mention the manna that God gave the to the Israelites through Moses but Jesus explains that through Him God is not only giving them bread for their bodies but bread for their souls as well. And this is where I think it might be good for us to pause. We might say that we, perhaps not unlike those people who chased Jesus across the lake because Jesus miraculously filled their stomachs, have followed Him to Church today. But do we know why? Is it for something that will last or something that will fade away? Actually, Jesus will give us both, but He longs for us to long for that which is eternal. He wants us to nourish us eternally with His Bread of Life.
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