John 6:30-35 NRSVue

³⁰So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” ³²Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

³⁵Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”

Some thoughts on this scripture

Reflection
Lord, I am still trying to satisfy some need of mine, working for food that cannot last. It is in prayer that I begin to sense a deeper satisfaction, and to know that in this bond with you there is something sacred, and the chance to live at a deeper level than I have ever done.

Reflection
All we need for happiness and fulfilment is in the teaching and the love of God. The bread from heaven is the word of God and the Eucharist. With the food of this teaching, nothing else is needed for living in the truth. Prayer can be a time of being grateful to God for this word of life, and for this bread which means that God is never far away from us. The word and the bread nourish us all the days of life.

Reflection
The bread of Jesus is his own life. That's what he means in saying he gives us his body as real food. We receive this bread of life any time we do something that is from faith, or love of him and of God. His love, to the death of the cross, is always life-giving. Each day we live in that love, finding it especially at a time of prayer.

Reflection
Those challenging Jesus for a sign have failed to recognise what he has done. Above all, they have failed to recognise that he is, in himself, the sign. He invites, but does not compel, faith in himself. We too look for signs. Jesus is the sign.

Reflection
He is 'the bread of life', the bread 'which comes down from heaven and gives life to the word'. Am I in touch with the hunger within myself which is for God and nothing less? This is the hunger Jesus came to satisfy.

Reflection
Jesus is for me bread of life; pleasure, nourishment, sustenance-daily food. I give thanks to God for the daily bread I receive. I pray that I may worry less about the future and try instead to recognise how God feeds me.