Seeking the food that endures...
Friendship with Christ will satisfy our hunger.
And when they found [Jesus] 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.” (John 6:25-29)
Searching, searching, searching. For years my life has been consumed by “the search,” a quest for the one thing that would satisfy that nagging sense of hunger in the depths my heart—the perfect job, the ideal vocation, the ultimate career milestone.
But all this time, I was really deceiving myself. I thought I was searching for Jesus. And in way, I was. But I was seeking him like the crowd in today’s gospel passage. My search for Christ was, on a certain level, motivated by the question: “What can Jesus give me?”
The people of Galilee wanted Jesus to give them bread to fill their bellies. Am I so different? I want a stable income and the feeling of security that comes with it. I want financial independence and the sense of freedom that money can bring. I want a successful writing career and the gratification of seeing my work prosper.
And there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with any of those desires. The goods of this world are just that—good. Healthy food, a meaningful job, financial security, the joy of accomplishment; these are all good things to have. But here’s the rub—we aren’t meant to become caught up in the pursuit of earthly goods or become overly attached to them. They are, after all, “the food that perishes.”
Furthermore, all good things are gifts from God. And gifts are meant to bring us into relationship with the giver. Jesus ultimately wants to give us more than this world can provide. He wants to give us himself. He is “the food that endures for eternal life.”
Remember that today’s passage from John, Chapter 6 leads directly into Jesus’ sublime “Bread of Life Discourse” where the Son of God reveals that the food imperishable, the bread that nourishes eternal life, is indeed his very self:
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. (John 6:35)
And if that were not enough, Jesus makes the stupendous claim that he shall feed us not in some abstract or symbolic way—We shall feast on his very flesh and blood.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
If we place this heavenly food first and foremost in our lives—when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, when we seek forgiveness in sacramental Confession, when we foster a routine of personal prayer and meditation, and when we perform works of charity—we shall be nourished by the divine life of the Only Begotten Son of God. And we shall possess this divine life, the life of grace, whether we are rich or poor, employed or unemployed, healthy or sick, in success or in adversity. No matter what earthly life throws at us, we will have a joy that cannot be taken away because it is sustained by the food that endures forever.
So, when I find myself asking, like the crowd on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, “What can I do to accomplish the works of God?” the answer Jesus provides is simple: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.” Faith in Jesus is not passive. It requires cultivating an intimate, personal friendship with him. And if I allow this friendship to inform all my actions, I can have confidence that I will not be led astray. I will be guided, to the source of the food imperishable, to that heavenly banquet that shall never end, where my every hunger and thirst shall be satisfied.
The daily scripture readings can be found on the USCCB website.
Your reflection, coupled with the movement of the Spirit, has me in tears. I needed this, too. Thank you, friend.