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

“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.”

If I am “looking” for Jesus because of what I hope to obtain I am missing out on so much more that God wants to give me.

The food that “endures for eternal life” is love of God and of neighbor.

“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.”

God calls us to a new relationship of believing in His Son, Jesus.

Jesus showed His love of God through prayer, obedience and thanksgiving.
He showed His love of neighbor by being nonjudgemental and through selfless service to others.

It is when I focus on what I can do for others, looking for nothing in return, that my life is filled with a Spirit of well being and the peace, hope and love that only God can give.

When we “believe” in Jesus and try to pattern our life after His we will know authentic life while on this earth and in the “eternal.”

“The only gift of value we give to God is that which we have already given to others.” Unknown