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.

Reflect

“Jesus is the true bread.” The multiplication of the five barley loaves and two fish is the
fourth of the seven signs performed by Jesus in John’s Gospel. The signs or the miracles
in John’s Gospel are aimed at inviting people to believe so that in the end they may have
life in Jesus’ name. In today’s Gospel, the people were asking for a miraculous
sign from Jesus. We may reflect more deeply on what they were asking from Jesus. Jesus had
just fed all of them out of five barley loaves and two fish. Now, in the present discourse, they
were asking for a miraculous sign! They recalled, citing to Jesus, the manna which their
ancestors ate in the desert (cf. Ex. 16). Jesus is the true bread that came down from heaven
for the life of the world, yet there are those who would not believe in him. Through
Jesus, the choice between life and death is set before us. We are called to choose life over
death. There is life for those who believe. But for those who do not believe, there is
only death. Our everyday life is always an occasion to choose life over death.
Which one are we choosing?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024