REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus uses the image of “bread” to tell the crowd that he is the food that gives life. The people had set the context for the bread symbolism by asking for a sign from Jesus, equivalent to Moses’ provision of manna in the wilderness. Jesus instead refers them to the “true” bread given by God. He is more than the manna given to the Israelites in the wilderness. Those who ate manna in the desert went hungry again and died. In the past, God temporarily sustained his people; now, he grants food that lasts to eternal life through his Son. Jesus is himself the provision of God for life. How is this living bread accessed? While Jesus underlines that those who come to him will never be hungry and thirsty, he also stresses something as important as food — his relationship with the Father, “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” In another passage, he said that the will of the Father is the “food” that nourishes him (Jn 4:34). While we believe that Jesus is the food that gives us life, do we also nourish ourselves with obedience to the will of the Father? Gospel • John 6:35-40 Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.