Gospel: John 6:22-29
Next day, the people, who had stayed on the other side, realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples; but rather, the disciples had gone away alone. Other boats from Tiberias landed near the place where all these people had eaten the bread. 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 of the signs which you have seen, 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 on whom the Father has put his mark.”
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.”
Reflection:
“Work that God wants.”
In today’s Gospel, the people are still trying to understand who Jesus is. They run after him because he has satisfied their hunger, and they hope he will do the same again. Jesus says that they are concentrating all their effort on the wrong thing. Yes, we need food to keep us healthy, and so by our efforts and work we pursue that which will fulfil this aim. But Jesus tells the crowd and us that our greater effort should be directed to that which keeps us healthy for eternal life. We must not neglect our spiritual life, and the spiritual work which Jesus calls us to is to believe in him in such a way that our whole lives are transformed. Saint John Henry Newman made a distinction between two types of faith. One is notional assent, where we accept the idea of God, but only in an abstract way. The other is real assent, a personal relationship with God which has a concrete impact on our lives. That is the “work that God wants.” Believe in the Lord. Follow him with all your heart.
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