Living Bread

"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?  What can you do?” (John 6:30)

One would think that Jesus had already done enough by way of supplying signs.  He had changed water into wine, he had healed the son of a Roman centurion who had been ill just a short time, he had healed a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been ill for thirty-eight years, and he had fed a multitude of more than 5,000 with just a few barley loaves and a few fish.  What more could these people want by way of a sign.

They were asking Jesus for a specific sign.  When Assyria had attacked Israel and Judah and carried the people off to exile in Babylon, the priests of the Temple had hidden the Ark of the Covenant so that it would not be stolen by their enemies.  The Ark reputedly held the tablets of the Law and a container of manna from their sojourn in the desert.  Unfortunately, by the time the children of Israel were allowed to return to their homes, at least two generations had passed.  No one remembered where the Ark had been hidden.  So a tradition grew that stated that when the Messiah came into their midst, he would reveal the whereabouts of the Ark and would once again provide the people with manna from heaven.  This is probably what the people are asking of Jesus.

In answer to their question about a sign and about the manna which Moses had provided, Jesus told them that the manna had not been the true bread from heaven, that he was the true bread which if eaten would satisfy their hunger. 

We indeed have the Bread of Heaven in the Eucharist, the very body and blood of Jesus under the form of bread and wine.  Jesus’ presence among us in the Eucharist is the fulfillment of his promise to remain with us until the end of the age, the end of time.  How blessed are those who believe, for their faith provides food for the journey.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator