Scripture:
1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51
Reflection:
The Jews mumbled about Jesus because he said, ‘I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.’
To understand today’s gospel, part of the Bread of Life discourse, we must hear its echoes in two key themes.
First, the allusion to the grumbling Israelites in their 40-year wilderness trek, sustained by manna from heaven, is parallel to the Jews grumbling near Capernaum after they have seen Jesus feed the 5,000.
Second, Jesus, the bread of life that came down from heaven, alludes to the evangelist John’s majestic prologue to his gospel: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn 1:14).
By way of background to today’s gospel, Jesus earlier had fed the 5,000 who were in a deserted area after he had taught them (Jn 1:1-15). But the Jews had failed to see the significance of the miracle. Jesus had offered to meet their deepest needs, but they were more concerned about their bellies. Thanks to Moses, “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness,” they reminded Jesus. Can you do as much as Moses?
This exchange between Jesus and the crowd recalls how the Israelites in the wilderness grumbled for food until Moses fed them manna. They were sustained by the manna until they reached the Promised Land. Jesus corrected them. It was not Moses, but God who gave them bread from heaven.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus declared to the crowd. “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died. I am the living bread that came down from heaven so that one may eat and not die” (Jn 6:48-50).
Those gospel themes—grumbling in the wilderness and Jesus as the bread of life that came down from heaven—should resonate in our own lives.
We too are challenged throughout our lives to walk the long walk in the wilderness. Will we grumble and complain? Or will we place our radical trust in God who will sustain us in difficult times?
Can we see that God in Jesus feeds us every day, even and especially in our wilderness moments? The manna that God gives us is the Body of Christ in the Eucharist. This food will nourish us as we journey through our lives until we arrive at our true home, the Promised Land, the kingdom of God.
Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.