Gospel JN 6:22-29
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, 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.”
Reflection:
“(After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.)
The next day, 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?”
The people of Jesus’ time seemed to be caught up in chasing after what they saw as the ” the miracle man.” Their minds appear to be held captive by the “Wow” factor of Jesus feeding five thousand people with a few loaves and fish and speculating on how He managed to cross the water.
“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.”
I resist the temptation to judge them; I do the same in my life. I can get caught up praying for the “loaves,” the miracles that I desire at any given moment.
“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.”
Instead of looking for what Jesus can do for “me,” I need to focus on studying, living and spreading Jesus’ message that we should “Love one another.” For loving and caring for one another is truly the food that “endures” forever.
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.”
They asked, “What can we do…..?”
The answer is simple: Believe in Jesus; feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, don’t judge others, let those who are suffering know that God has not forgotten them.
If every day each of us did just one of these to spread Jesus’ message, we would be the signs people are looking for to know that Jesus is alive and working in the world.
For it is when we serve others in the name of Jesus that God “sets His seal on us.”
“Serving others in the name of God warms the heart and enriches the soul.” Unknown