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.

Lectio Divina

READ: Jesus is now being sought by people. He in turn bared their thoughts
why they seek Him. They ate and were satisfied with the bread He provided. He
now exhorted them to work for the bread that gives eternal life. Then followed
conversations on the bread from heaven that miraculously appeared during the
time of Moses. The people asked Jesus if He could top the miraculous event that
formed part of their salvation history. Jesus revealed that He is the true bread that
does not only supports life but gives life as well.

REFLECT: Hunger is real in this world. The hunger could be basic such as hunger
for food. For others hunger could be in the realm of love, attention, fame, material
goods and the likes. The list could be endless. But the basic hunger for food is where
people sometimes turn desperate. It is their survival after all which is at stake. That
is why Jesus tells them in today’s gospel that they search for Him because He gives
them bread. They sense material security could be had with Jesus. They have not
yet understood that what Jesus offers is far better than their mere basic needs. He
offers them food that will bring eternal life. After hearing what Jesus has to say, the
people ask that this food be given to them always. And Jesus reveals that it is He
Himself who is the bread that comes from heaven. What happened afterwards is
anybody’s guess. But we know that this teaching is hard to accept. Many left. Jesus’
job is not easy. But He continues to do so in season and out of season.

RESPOND: Jesus is the bread of life. We must share this bread to others by our
example and the words we share. Perhaps we can also throw in between material
bread to satisfy the hunger even of only one person. There are two breads that
we can share, Jesus the heavenly bread and the material bread of this earth to our
brothers and sisters.