I am the Bread of Life

 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 1st August 2021

Gospel John 6: 24–35 (part)

When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there they crossed to Capernaum to look for him. They said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but for food that endures to eternal life, the kind the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.

They said, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus answered, ‘You must believe in the one he sent’. So they said, ‘What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert.’ Jesus answered: ‘It was not Moses but my Father who gives you bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered:

‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As I prepare to pray, I relax my body and mind. I become aware once again of being in God’s loving presence. I take the time to be open and receptive, asking the Holy Spirit to help me pray.

When I am ready, I read the text a couple of times.

I imagine the crowd looking for Jesus, perhaps wondering how he had escaped them. I am here too, looking for him, perhaps with my own questions ...

They call him ‘Rabbi’, Teacher. I join them sitting at his feet to learn from him. What am I hungry for? Answers to material concerns ... peace of mind ... deeper understanding of what I should do ... closer union with him ... or something else ...?

I speak to him from my heart, being honest and trusting that he accepts me as I am.

Maybe Jesus reminds me that he is the bread of life, feeding me in many ways. I ponder what his great gift means to me.

I end my prayer in a spirit of gratitude.

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