Jesus  offers himself as someone who quenches our thirst, strengthens us against trials, and fills us in our hunger.

He does not only fill us, he gives us endless reserves if we stick with him.

The bread that filled their stomachs, The sign is about who Jesus is. 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15

In the desert the whole community

Of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in Egypt when we sat down to caldrons of meat and ate all the bread we wanted, whereas you have brought us to this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation!"

Yahweh then said to Moses, "Now I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to gather what is needed for that day. In this way I will test them to see if they will follow my Teaching or not. "I have heard the complaints of Israel. Speak to them and say:

 

Between the two evenings you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have bread to your heart's content; then you shall know that I am Yahweh, your God!" In the evening quails came up and covered the camp. And in the morning, dew had fallen around the camp. When the dew lifted, there was on the surface of the desert a thin crust like hoarfrost. The people of Israel upon seeing it said to one another, "What is it?" for they didn't know what it was. Moses told them, "It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat."

 

Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54 (246) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

I say to you, then, and with insistence I advise you in the Lord: do not imitate the pagans who live an aimless kind of life.

 

But it is not for this that you have followed Christ. For I suppose that you heard of him and received his teaching which is seen in Jesus himself. You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction. Renew yourselves spiritually, from inside, and put on the new self, or self according to God, that is created in true righteousness and holiness.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

John 6:24-35

When they saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Master, when did you come here?"

Jesus answered, "Truly, I say to you, you look for me, not because you have seen through the signs, but because you ate bread and were satisfied.

Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life.  The Son of Man will give it to you, for he is the one the Father has marked."

 

Then the Jews asked him, "What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?" And Jesus answered them, "The work God wants is this: that you believe in the One whom God has sent."

They then said, "Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says: They were given bread from heaven to eat."

Jesus then said to them, "Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the

 

One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world." And they said to him, "Give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"They were given bread from heaven to eat."

Lectio Divina

 READ: The people looked for Jesus. They found him at the other side of the lake. Jesus told them that he knew the reason why they were looking for him. It was not because they saw the signs when Jesus fed the multitude but because they ate and were satisfied. Jesus exhorted them to work for lasting food and not for perishable food. The Son of Man would give them such food.

 

The Jews asked Jesus what they should do. Jesus told them that they should believe in the one whom God sent. The Jews asked for miracles citing the manna in the desert. Jesus explained to them that it was his Father who gave them the true bread from heaven. Jesus told them that he is the bread of life.

 

REFLECT: Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven. He is the gift of God the Father to the world. We are called to grow in our relationship with Jesus because he is the one who can truly nourish us, making us grow into the spiritually mature people God wants us to be. A spiritually mature person knows how to distinguish truth from falsity, knows how to discern well. A spiritually mature person discerns well a true life-giving relationship from one that is merely satisfying. We have to choose what is truly life-giving.

 

PRAY: Let us pray for the gift of discernment.

 

ACT: Let us exercise discernment today, doing a concrete life-giving act for a family member.