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.
So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe
in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is
written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat. So Jesus said to them, “Amen,
amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father
gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to
them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and
whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
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Reflection:
Why do you seek the Lord?
After the crowd was fed by Jesus in the miracle of the multiplication of
the loaves (John 6:9-13) Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum. After a day
the crowd was hungry again and what happened in the multiplication of the
loaves was still vivid in their minds. So they looked for Jesus hoping that He
will feed them again and they found Him in Capernaum.
They said: “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 (John 6:25-27).
It was very clear that the crowd was looking for Jesus because He feed
them. They did not look for Him because they wanted to follow Him and be one of
His disciples. The action of the crowd invites us also to look at ourselves and
reflect on our desire to be with Him. Do we go to Jesus because of His
miracles? Or do we go to Jesus because we love Him and we want to be His
partner in His mission of evangelization? Often times we go to Jesus because we
need something from Him and that’s OK but the ideal desire is we go to Jesus
out of our love for Him.
In the latter part of the gospel Jesus told the crowd: “My Father gives
you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down
from heaven and gives life to the world.” Here, Jesus was already talking about
himself to the crowd for they were still not aware of His true identity.
Sad to say that some of us are not fully aware of the Divinity of Jesus. Some
are not fully aware of what transpires during the liturgy of the Eucharist
especially in the Consecration. Some are not fully aware that they receive
Jesus during Communion that they don’t even care to observe Eucharistic
fasting.
Talking from experience, I noticed that during communion there are those
who receive Jesus as if they are receiving ordinary bread. If only they know
that what they’re about to received is the Bread of Life which is Jesus
Himself!
There is a great need for us to go to Jesus: not because we desire His
miracles. We go to the Lord because of our love for Him and out of our desire
to be His partner in His mission of evangelization. Let us not worry for the
Lord will sustain us in this noble mission.
Would you respond? Of course you will respond notwithstanding the
distraction of the Covid-19 pandemic. – Marino J. Dasmarinas