Here is my reflection on the Gospel for Monday week 3 of Easter-Pentecost.
Well, it goes like this.I put a video feed of a psalm at the end of it.
This is the link to my website where more is in terms of text and pictures: https://wordaloud.co.uk/audio/kjv/daily-bible-verses-easter-season-to-pentecost-monday-week-3-spiritual-food-the-bread-of-life/easter-pentecost/
I hope you like:
John 6: 22-29 Audio Bible KJV | King James Audio Bible | King James Version | Daily Verses
22 ¶ The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The people who have been fed through the miracle of the loaves and the fishes now seek Jesus and are mystified that he should not be near. They have seen that there was only one boat and that the disciples of Jesus have gone alone into the boat to pass across the Sea of Galilee. The events that have taken place overnight, as Jesus walked across the water, would have been completely beyond their comprehension. Now, though, in the morning, there are more boats, which can take the people across the lake to Capernaum. There they go, seeking Jesus.
The people do indeed discover Jesus, and now they acknowledge him as a great teacher, as Rabbi. However, the way in which they seek him is imperfect. As Jesus tells them, they seek him because they have been fed through the miracle, such that they know that their physical appetite has been sated. Now they need to understand the spiritual significance of the loaves and the fishes. So Jesus begins his discourse on the Bread of Life.
We are taught now to distinguish between fleshly and spiritual food. Why do we hunger for that which perishes? Why do we attach ourselves to the transient things of this life when there is so much more, from the knowledge of which our fleshly appetites distract us? Our bodily food keeps us alive in this life. The food offered to us by Jesus is the spiritual food which brings us to eternal life. Christ now reveals the mystery of the Eucharist.
Only God can give us this spiritual food, the bread of life. Jesus will go on to explain that he is the bread of life, that it is his body in which we must share, in which we are invited to share. This will be a difficult message for the people to grasp, and many will not do so.
Now, at the commencement of this discourse, we are taught to aspire to the life of the spirit, and to know that the life eternal has been prepared for us. Moreover, Jesus teaches us through these Bible verses that he is the key and the gateway, that the Father has sent his Son, who is Jesus. We are asked to believe in him. It is through Jesus that we receive the spiritual food, the bread of life eternal, and that bread is in fact Jesus.
