August 1st - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Eph 4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35)
Jesus challenges us to believe in him. Immediately prior to this passage, he performed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. On the day afterward, everyone seeks him like a celebrity. The crowds look for him all around the Sea of Galilee until they find him in Capernaum. When they find him, however, Jesus discloses their inner hearts: “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (6:26). They are doing the right thing – looking for Jesus – but for the wrong reason: to fill their bellies. They are treating Jesus like a miraculous food provider rather than the Messiah. The miracles of the loaves was meant to point them to a greater reality and to enkindle in them a greater hunger for God. The miracle should have led them to greater faith, not to carnal dependence. The people did not see or recognize the sign that Jesus gave to them. They only ate the food because it was physically satisfying. Because of this, the people ask him for a new sign (v. 30). Even though they already witnessed a miracle, they want another one. They do not see the connection between the miracle of the loaves and the manna in the desert. Jesus then reveals the true meaning of the manna and the meaning of the miracle of the loaves. Those miracles point to an even greater miracle, which is the Bread of Life: Christ himself gives us his Body and Blood. This is the bread for which the people long, because it is the only bread that they will always have (John 6:34). Jesus gives himself to us daily in the sacrament of the Eucharist.