Work for the Food that Endures to Eternal Life

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 1, 2021

Readings (Click here to read in full)
    Reading I:  Ex 16:2-4, 12-15
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
    Reading II: Eph 4:17, 20-24
    Gospel: Jn 6:24-35

Word Count: 643

    Slow (100 wpm): 6.4 minutes

    Average (130 wpm): 4.9 minutes

    Fast (160 wpm): 4 minutes

Our Gospel today is a continuation of the previous Sunday’s Gospel about Jesus feeding the five thousand men. The people who were fed came back to Jesus, not because they came to believe in Him but because they wanted to receive more free food. Jesus knew what they wanted when they approached Him. He told them, "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."

If we examine ourselves in the way we approach Jesus in prayer, most of the time, we ask Him to do something for us. We want Him to provide for our needs, solve our problems, give us good health, protect us from harm, keep us safe, especially in this time of pandemic, etc. We plead for God’s help for many things we need and want in life. Yes, all of these are normal. There is nothing wrong with praying this way. Asking for Divine Providence is our expression of our dependence on God. We need God to provide for us.

Jesus knew the needs of the people who came to Him. But He would like them to understand what they truly need. He taught them, "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 desired that they work not only for their material needs, but for their spiritual needs as well. He wanted them to realize that what they truly need is nourishment that brings not just life on earth but life that lasts forever, "the food that endures for eternal life." 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 can only receive this "food for eternal life" if they come to Jesus not to get but to give something to Him, their belief in Him.

Jesus continued that it is only His Father who can give this food, "the true bread from heaven." When the people expressed their desire for this kind of bread by saying, "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." Jesus wanted them to understand that in order to satisfy their real hunger, they needed to partake of the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself. For all of us today, we can only receive the Bread of Life if we come and fully participate in the Eucharistic Celebration, the Holy Mass.

Jesus is teaching us that we do not only come to Him because we need something from Him to fulfill our superficial needs. Yes, He can and will provide for us according to His will. But, more than all these, He wants us to eat Him, the Bread of Life, because He wants us to be one with Him. However, with our pandemic situation these days, we are prevented from receiving Him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This leaves us starving for the Bread of Life. Yet, this should not stop us from coming to Jesus at Mass. The Church offers Virtual Eucharistic Celebrations on many platforms, like radio, television, the internet via Facebook, FB Messenger, YouTube, and Zoom, among others. When we attend Mass through one of these platforms in the safety of our homes, let us participate fully in the celebration and not do anything else while the Mass is going on. This will prepare us to receive Him in Holy Communion, at least spiritually. Even in these times of community quarantine, let us do our best to "work for the food that endures to eternal life."

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

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