John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Read John 6:35, 41-51 on biblegateway.com
Verse 35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Verse 41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." Verse 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Verse 43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. Verse 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. Verse 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Verse 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Verse 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. Verse 48I am the bread of life. Verse 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. Verse 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. Verse 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Devotion
The numbers are staggering: 852 million people across the world are hungry, up from 842 million a year ago. Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes – one child every five seconds. (Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.)
In John we are told Jesus divided loaves and fishes and physically fed the hungry masses. Then he spoke of a heavenly food that consisted of God’s revelation in his ministry and possibly in the Eucharistic meal.
Today, when you consider what you will eat, give thanks for the choices in and the amount of the food you eat. Offer thanks for the fullness that Christ brings to your life. Then let us work together in faith to address the physical and spiritual hunger of all persons through our ministry of the gospel.
Prayer
Dear feeder of the hungry, help us to be wise in our use of food and other natural resources. In our bounty, may we discover ways to address the needs of those who will not have enough to eat this day. May we also be empowered to speak of the bread that fills all other hungers, Jesus our Lord. Amen.