Reflection on the Gospel of the Monday In The Third Week Of Easter |
John 6: 22-29 |
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves…” v.26
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” v.28b
Reflecting on the today’s Gospel I realised that Jesus is asking us to only believe in Him. He says, that’s the task/work the Father has set before us. At the surface level this seems so simple and unbelievable, but when we understand the meaning of what it means to believe. we realise it is not such an easy thing and yet it is a comfortable highway for those who take the challenge and believe. As previously mentioned in our reflections, ‘Believing’ is echoed in a big way in John 3:16, but it is also needed to be understood with John 3:36, which says that if you believe something, you will live it in your day-to-day life, because it will be the fragrance that influences you. Believing in Jesus in our life on earth is not a smooth walk, because we look around us, we need our quota of food, clothing and shelter to live lives in this world, and we want to make our ends meet. This is the reality of this world. Jesus, asks us to do things quite differently, He is asking us to believe, and do not worry about anything else, the Father in Heaven will take care of those things. Is it possible to take that at face value… But when we believe, we need to take all of God’s Word at face value – not pick and choose – that is not believing… That is what Jesus is saying in v.26, when he is saying you seek what you see and meets your physical need. But do you take the time to understand the meaning that provision by God means. To understand this in context we can look at the Miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, that Jesus was referring to when He said these words. They say Jesus doing the Miracle, and He could meet their need, but did they take time to think what this implied. It was an eternal invitation to an eternal relationship with God, to wait on Him and learn from Him (The significance of the Israel’s Journey in the Sinai Desert – but Now Jesus inviting them into a very real and practical relationship with God – through Himself). The other side would be to complain when they were in want, never understanding that God never fails us – and if there is a need or want, we can always approach Him – knowing His Goodness and Steadfastness – and ask Him, with confidence to fill our needs/wants.
Jesus then is the bread who came down from heaven – the eternal assurance of a reliable, unchanging and loving God. Let us feed on Him in the Eucharist and the Word of God. Holy Spirit help us see, help us believe, help us live… Amen
