Eternal Bread

^“26Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” John 6:26-27

The crowds of Jesus’ day are not all that much different than we are today. What we have in common is when we get a taste of something we consider good (whether it be food, a new car, jewelry, new furnishing, etc…) we often want more. Like the five thousand Jesus fed, we are still hungry for things that are consumed and perish; things that are merely temporal. Like the crowd of Jesus’ day we want more of everything. We are still hungry and thirsty for tangible things rather than the everlasting spiritual. In other words we will never be satisfied if seek joy by filling our lives with worldly things, rather than spiritual growth and fulfillment.

The 4^th/5^th c. Theologian and “Father of Western Christianity” Augustine of Hippo wrote, “Our souls are restless until they find their rest in God.” What a powerful observation! We are constantly unsatisfied, hungry and thirsty people. We hunger to be liked by our peers; we thirst to be seen in the light of prestige; we hunger to be known; we thirst for status. We often miss and overlook the true hunger and thirst that provides eternal purpose and joy in life. Those intangible qualities don’t come through temporal processions or personal status amongst our peers, nor personal affirmation and recognition. Yet we are like lost sheep without a shepherd, craving for real meaning and substance in our lives that the temporal can never fill.

John’s Gospel tells us that the people surrounding Jesus were so desperate for something to fill their lives that they were like lost sheep without a shepherd as well. They continued to seek out Jesus but they were clueless as to the real substance of what Christ offered.

So why did they come to Jesus? We know that earlier in this same chapter Jesus fed the five thousand with a mere five loaves of bread and two small fish. They must have not only been amazed that they were all able to eat their fill from this small quantity of food, but there were twelve full baskets left over. Jesus realizes that these poor lost souls don’t understand that this miracle was not about mere food and feeding the people, rather they missed the point. He said, “Very truly, I tell you, you are coming to me not because you saw the signs but because you ate the loaves.” The people wanted full stomachs rather than full spirits, and fulfilled lives. Their human nature misunderstood Jesus’ true purpose and meaning for their lives. They ate the food but missed the message. They remained hungry, nor were they satisfied for long.

What we often miss in our understanding of the nature of God is that Christ came to offer a feast of the spirit; a life centered in the Gospel. Jesus is not a drive through food service. Jesus offers food that lasts – eternal spiritual substance -Grace.

Jesus addresses a crowd with their hands out instead of their hearts open. The “bread that comes down from heaven” is not made of flour and water, but of flesh and blood. Jesus is the “Bread of Life;” eternal life.

How do we approach God in our daily lives? Do we approach God in prayer with spread hands of self-indulgence, or do we approach God in complete surrender with our hearts open asking “Come Holy Spirit, Come?”