Who is Jesus? This question is the core question of our faith and the core question in John’s Gospel. In today’s Gospel Jesus answers this question: “I am the bread of life.” Jesus has used similar images to describe himself elsewhere in John Gospel. In his dialogue with the Samaritan women Jesus describes himself as living water: “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10). Jesus also describes himself as light: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
All these images describe Jesus as something that is foundational and vital for our daily life. In today’s Gospel after Jesus identifies himself as the Bread of Life, he promises that “whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus as the Bread of Life and as Living Water feeds our most basic hunger and quenches our deepest thirst. Jesus as bread and water also offers us the gift of eternal life: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” When we put our faith and our trust in Jesus, we have eternal life now and the promise of the resurrection in the future.
This faith or trust in Jesus comes through seeing or encountering Jesus: “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him.” We “see” and hear Jesus when we hear the Gospel proclaimed. We “see” and encounter Jesus by seeing ourself in the Gospel. In today’s Gospel Jesus not just speaking “to the crowds” but he is speaking to you and me. He is speaking to us because he wants us to know that he is the Bread of Life. He tells us: “whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” He tells us our life will be different now when we follow his way and put God’s will first. This way is the way of eternal life; a different life here on earth and a future life in heaven in God’s presence.
Image: “18 John 06 v01-14 Jesus feeds the Five Thousand” by fz1844 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.