Servant of God, Dorothy Day, an important 20th Century American Catholic social activist and writer once wrote, “Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.” These two simple sentences sum up the message of today’s Gospel from John 6: 24 – 35. In last week’s Gospel, John 6: 1 – 15, we heard how Jesus and his disciples fed thousands of people with five barley loaves and two fish. And we heard how they wanted to make Jesus King. Today we hear how the crowd followed Jesus back to Capernaum where he confronted them about their motives. They wanted more food and a king. Jesus wanted to give them “the food that endures for eternal life.”
Bread is perishable. Two thousand years ago people only made enough bread for one day because it became inedible quickly. Even today with vast improvements in food technology bread does not stay fresh for very long. So, when Jesus told the people that he wanted to give them food that will last forever, they were incredulous. They understood that manna was “bread from heaven” but manna did not guarantee eternal life. It was simply food.
We understand with thousands of years of hindsight that Jesus wanted to nourish their souls. He wanted to give them spiritual bread. The crowd in Capernaum didn’t get it. He told them that all they had to do was “believe in the one [God] sent.” Their response was, prove it. Jesus’ answer to them and to us was “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Those of us who are here in Holy Trinity Catholic Church today believe that Jesus was the one God sent. We believe that he offers us “food that endues for eternal life.” And we believe that the Eucharist is that food. We are here because we want spiritual nourishment. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “There is no surer pledge or dearer sign of this great hope in the new heavens and new earth "in which righteousness dwells," than the Eucharist. Every time this mystery is celebrated, "the work of our redemption is carried on" and we "break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ." As we reflect on the significance of the Eucharist in our lives, let’s join with St Catherine of Siena who prayed, “Father, I am hungry; for the love of God give this soul her food, her Lord in the Eucharist,"
Our living God,
we hunger for lasting life and happiness
and the fulfilment of all our hopes.
Satisfy all our hungers
through your Son Jesus Christ,
our bread of life.
And when he has filled us with himself,
may he lead and strengthen us
to bring to a waiting world
the food of reconciliation and joy
which you alone can give to the full.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
