Reading 1
The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!"
Then the LORD said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."
Gospel
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."
So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
Reflection
Our God knows what we need, and He longs to take care of us, to the point of giving us His very Self.
Even when we complain or fail to show gratitude, like the Israelites in our first reading, God continues to provide for us. We may grumble and cry out “Would that we had died!”and yet God holds us in being and gives us everything that we need—if only we would accept it. How interesting that the Israelites did not recognize the Manna for the gift that it was, even though they specifically bemoaned the lack of bread before! When we allow ourselves to get sucked into cynicism and regret, we can be blind to the way that God answers our prayers.
But God knows our need better than we do, and so He may not answer our prayers in the way that we expect.
The Gospel today pairs with the first reading to shed light on how limited and flawed our human perspective can be. It calls us to direct our desires to the Bread that has been formed by heavenly hands for us to receive: Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
The crowds were enraptured by Jesus’ miracle of the 5,000, and they grew fixated on physical goods, tangible signs, and bread that could give earthly life. But again, God forgave their misguided mentality and offered them what they needed. This time, however, it was not flakes of bread in the dew. This Bread surpassed what the people were asking for. Jesus held out to them something infinitely better than multiplied loaves and fishes. He offered them eternal life through union with Himself. "I am the Bread of Life;” He declared. “Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst." Jesus recognized that the people longed to be filled, and He desired to fill them with Himself.
He makes us the same offering every day. He sees our hunger and asks us to love Him, believe in Him, receive Him in the Eucharist, and thus be filled. Let us strive to step out of our narrow human desires and complaints, and instead joyfully embrace the perfect all-fulfilling gift of Christ.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
