Monday of the Third Week of Easter
WHY DO WE SEEK JESUS?
Introduction
Today and in the next few days, two unrelated Scripture texts run parallel – Stephen’s martyrdom presented as an imitation of the martyrdom of Christ and the Eucharistic discourse of Jesus, as given in John 6 after the multiplication of bread.
Jesus confronts us today with the question: “Why are you looking for me?” Why are we looking for God, for Jesus? Is it merely for the things he gives us? We receive much from God, but do we look for Jesus himself, for what he means in our lives? Let us look to get closer to him and to become more like him. He asks us for faith in his person and mission.
Reading 1: Acts 6:8-15
11 So in secret they bribed men to lie: “We heard him cursing Moses and God.”
12-14 That stirred up the people, the religious leaders, and religion scholars. They grabbed Stephen and took him before the High Council. They put forward their bribed witnesses to testify: “This man talks nonstop against this Holy Place and God’s Law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear this place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.”
15 As all those who sat on the High Council looked at Stephen, they found they couldn’t take their eyes off him—his face was like the face of an angel!
Gospel: Jn 6:22-29
22-24 The next day the crowd that was left behind realized that there had been only one boat, and that Jesus had not gotten into it with his disciples. They had seen them go off without him. By now boats from Tiberias had pulled up near where they had eaten the bread blessed by the Master. So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn’t coming back, they piled into the Tiberias boats and headed for Capernaum, looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him back across the sea, they said, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free.
27 “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last.”
28 To that they said, “Well, what do we do then to get in on God’s works?”
29 Jesus said, “Sign on with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”
Prayer
Our living God,
we hunger for lasting life and happiness
and the fulfillment of all our hopes.
Satisfy all our hungers
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who is 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 thorough Christ our Lord.
Reflection:
24 April 2023
John 6:22-29
Believe in the Word – the bread of life
The author of the Gospel is not reporting an actual conversation between Jesus and the crowd. Today’s passage is a theological reflection addressing matters of dispute between the Christian community and their Jewish contemporaries of his time.
Jesus had fed 5000 people with five loaves ‘on the other side of the lake’, and now he is back in Capernaum. The crowd who witnessed the miracle and ate the bread- now comes in search of him. Jesus understands their need. “You look for me… because you ate bread and were satisfied.” This is the literary style of John. We see him using this writing technique while narrating the story of the Samaritan Woman, who tells Jesus: “Sir, give me this water so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
By telling the story of the crowd who runs for bread from Jesus, John points out to his community the shallowness of their faith. They believed in Jesus to obtain some favours… for a miraculous cure, success in business, enough food and a comfortable living. Even today, many believe in Jesus, hoping to obtain favours from the Lord and some miraculous healings or blessings. Jesus reminded the crowd and now reminds us – to ask ourselves of the motive of our practising religion.
John teaches such community members: “Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life” (vv. 26-27). It is love and sharing that produce bread in abundance.
Today, decoding the symbolisms of John, many scripture scholars would say, The five loaves are the five books of Moses – the Torah. And the two fish represented the books of the Prophets and the other scriptures of Israel to complement the Torah. Multiplying the five loaves and two fish implies that Jesus fed the multitude with the Word of God. We should also remember the words of Jesus: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”
How do we nourish ourselves with this bread? “What must we do?”—the crowd in Capernaum asked Jesus. The answer is the last verse of today’s Gospel:
Not many works, but only one, to believe in him – the Word of God – whom the Father sent. No other thing is required.