Jesus replied, "I am the Bread of Life!"

John 6:24-35

When the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?” Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me. But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.” They replied, “What should we do to satisfy God?” Jesus told them, “This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.” They replied, “You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven.’” Jesus said, “Moses didn’t give it to them. My Father did. And now he offers you true Bread from heaven. The true Bread is a Person—the one sent by God from heaven, and he gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day of our lives!” Jesus replied, “I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again. Those believing in me will never thirst.

Food for thought!

The events in this gospel took place in Capernaum, where Jesus multiplied bread and walked on water. These two miracles of Jesus served as a preparation for a sermon that Jesus was about to preach, which begins today and will go for some Sundays. With 5 small loaves, and 2 small fishes Jesus fed a multitude that probably neared 15,000 people. No wonder the people went after Jesus; he had provided them with free meal.
Sometimes we fail to connect the dots of life. Often we fail to understand the manifestations and expressions of God in real life just like the people in the gospel reading of today. These people are still stuck in the bread given by Jesus; they just can't go beyond the gift to the giver, can't go beyond the bread given by Jesus to the Jesus that gives the bread; can't go beyond the material to the spiritual. All they ask of Jesus is that He give more physical bread. But this is too little. To come to Jesus to ask for mere bread is just too little. Jesus gives much more than food for the stomach; he gives food for eternity; he gives himself.

Sometimes we are like the people in the gospel; all we ask of Jesus is bread or some material things or some physical healing. This is too little to ask Jesus; this is reducing Jesus from God to a social worker. In today's gospel, the people even remind Jesus of the Old Testament miracle of the Manna. They tell Jesus that Moses gave the children of Israel Manna, and they want to know what He is going to give: “You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven.’”(First Reading).

Christ's response is to remind them that Moses was not responsible for the Manna, but that it was the provision of heaven. He goes on to tell them that the true bread from Heaven is a person. In fact, it is Jesus himself who is the Bread of Life.

What does it mean for Jesus to be bread of life?

Bread (food) is a substance known and used by every society on the face of the earth; bread is consumed by people everywhere. We cannot live without bread; we can skip a meal, but can never skip all meal all the time. Why? Well, because bread sustains physical life. It is that without which biological life cannot go on.
Jesus is to our souls what bread is to our body. Physical bread can sustain human life for long periods of time. However, after a time, the body will still die, even though it has been well fed. Jesus, on the other hand, is bread that gives everlasting life. When Jesus is received, He gives a salvation that lasts for all eternity. In other words, the Bread of life is not a system or a denomination, or a church, but He is a Person. This truth simply serves to remind us that we can never be saved by some religious system or method. Salvation comes through Jesus and Jesus alone! Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

What Jesus is teaching us in today´s gospel is simple. He is saying that He is «indispensable»; that we cannot live without him, cannot do away with him; that we need Him; that we do well not to ignore him or forget him; that we do well to welcome him and be with him as he is with us.