"WHAT IS TRULY YOUR BREAD OF LIFE?"

Deacon Canidate Darron C. Woodus

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"I am the bread of life;..." (Jn 6:24-35)

Last week, we heard from Stefanie Miles about her experience at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. This generational event of believers across the nation worshiped Jesus as the Body of Christ. This congress was a Eucharistic revival to remind us of the importance of Jesus. I ask why we must be reminded of Jesus' presence in our lives. Do we question the fact that Jesus is the Bread of Life, or are we simply in turmoil as to what is truly our Bread of Life?

Let's focus on one of the most profound and theologically rich passages in the Gospel of John—the Bread of Life Discourse. This text offers us a more profound spiritual truth that Jesus offers us as to who He is. It is here that Jesus offers Himself as the Bread of life. Let's first set the stage; last Sunday's Gospel reading describes one of Jesus' most well-known miracles, feeding the 5,000. This event is described in all of the Gospels; therefore, it must be important. Jesus was growing in popularity due to the miracles he was doing, and people followed Him everywhere. This was a time for Jesus to teach, so He went up to the mountain and sat down with his disciples there to teach them. Remember, the mountain is significant because it's a place to receive revelation from God. The mountains are a place to be closer to God. Jesus recognized that the crowd was still there and proposed feeding the crowd.

Unknowing to the disciples, Jesus was planning to feed the crowd Himself. I know that sounds weird but work with me. To the disciples, this was a test of building understanding and faith. The crowd was too large to feed, and no money was available to purchase food. The essential teaching is that need does not outweigh the resource when we speak of Jesus. Jesus prepares the crowd for a feast, reclining [setting] to give thanks. Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish to feed the crowd of 5000. Jesus' act of giving thanks prefigures the Eucharist, where he takes Bread, gives thanks, and distributes it.

As we journey with the Gospel of John 6:24-35, the crowd is still searching for Jesus, taking boats and going to Capernaum in search of Him. The crowd questioned when Jesus arrived in Capernaum so quickly, which reveals the people's continual focus on the physical compared to the spiritual. The crowd focused on the multiplication of the loaves and fish as a physical need that satisfied the body. Jesus shifts from the material to the spiritual. He says, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled" (John 6:26). Here, Jesus points out that their attention is fixed on the temporal satisfaction of their hunger rather than a recognition of the sign's more profound meaning. Have we, as the people of faith, moved from the temporal?

As we live in the world's daily grind, what is genuinely our Bread of life? We often consume ourselves with work, food, exercise, social media, narcissism, combativeness, etc.; these are our manna, our Bread of life. These things come and go but provide no real nourishment, but we labor hard for them. Jesus urges us not to labor for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. Jesus, as the Son of Man, is the food that endures and leads to eternal life. What can we do? No rituals can satisfy our external well-being, but a personal faith in Jesus can. This response stresses that faith in Jesus is the key to receiving the spiritual nourishment Jesus offers. We depend on our earthly Bread to maintain us like the crowd seeking another miracle from Jesus. Our authentic Bread is not temporary but divine and forever, even when we have died. Jesus is the source of spiritual sustenance; He is teaching the crowd in the Gospel and what we are to glean from the Gospel. If you are still in doubt, Jesus proclaims, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Jesus is the source of fulfillment; those who come to Him will be provided spiritual care and eternal life because Jesus does not offer physical needs but spiritual food.

The core of Jesus' teaching is that He is the Bread of Life, just as Bread is a vital sustenance for physical life. I implore that we place our earthly epithets of Bread to the side and more deeply invite the Bread of Life to satisfy our deepest spiritual needs. The work of God is to believe in Jesus (John 6:29) and trust in Jesus.

True fulfillment comes from Jesus alone. Our material possessions, achievements, experiences, power, and authority provide no meaningful satisfaction in external life. Jesus invites us to a relationship with Him in prayer, the Word, and the sacraments. Trusting in Jesus as the Bread of Life means placing our trust in Him for our salvation and daily needs, which should be represented in our daily actions. This trust helps us grow to live out the passion that Jesus has taught us.

I invite you to a deeper trust in God's provision and a recognition of the true nature of Jesus' mission. It challenges us to seek spiritual nourishment from Christ (attend mass), the Bread of Life, and to understand our Catholic faith's sacramental and communal dimensions. We are to discern, understand, and follow Jesus' true mission, avoiding the temptation to impose our expectations on Him. So, let mass be our daily or weekly reminder not to take Jesus for granted. Don't let receiving Jesus be a pious habit or just something to do. Jesus is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven and is shaping us who eat this Bread into disciples.

Amen!

Amen!

Amen!

Author: Darron C. Woodus, MACM, Pastoral Associate, Holy Family Catholic Church - Randallstown, MD, Diaconate Candidate, Archdiocese of Baltimore.

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