Khi chúng ta tuyên xưng tin vào Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta cũng phải tự hỏi mình những câu hỏi này: Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Chúa muốn con làm những điều gì? Và Con sẽ phải làm gì cho Chúa Giêsu?
Đức Tin là sự dấn thân vào trong sứ mạng của Chúa Giêsu Kitô và hội nhập với Chúa qua sự hiệp thông với Giáo Hội, là thân thể của các tín hữu. Sự sống đời đời chỉ có thể được thực hiện như cơ thể của Chúa Kitô. Đó là lý do tại sao Thiên Chúa nói trong sự kiện Biến: "Đây là Con yêu dấu của ta, hãy nghe lời Người." Nghe để tin và tin là theo Chúa Giêsu trong sứ vụ của mình.
When we profess to believe in Jesus, we must also ask ourselves these questions: What does Jesus want me to do? What am I doing for Jesus? What will I do for Jesus?
Faith without good works is empty because profession of belief becomes lip service only. Wish lists remain wishes until they are acted upon and realized. The essence of belief is commitment. When Jesus preached about the "Bread of Life", he was talking about God Emmanuel, God with us in the person of Jesus, himself. Even if Jesus had already ascended to heaven, his mystical presence is in the Church and the communion we believe and celebrate in the Eucharist. To believe is to commit ourselves to the mission of Jesus Christ and integration through communion with the Church, the body of believers. Eternal life can only be realized as the body of Christ. That is why God said in the Transfiguration event: "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." To listen is to believe and to believe is to follow Jesus in his mission.
“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “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. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” John 6:26–27
The crowd desired one thing, but Jesus desired another. This reality is common to us all. Earlier in this chapter from John’s Gospel, Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men—not counting the women and children—with five barley loaves and two fish. The crowd was so ecstatic that they wanted to carry Jesus off and crown Him king. Jesus, however, had no desire to be an earthly king, so He withdrew to a mountain to be alone.
The next morning, when the crowd discovered Jesus had left, they searched for Him and found Him in Capernaum with the Twelve. When they found Him, they asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus’ response revealed their true motivation: “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” In other words, they desired another meal. Their interest in Jesus was superficial.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ miracles are referred to as “signs.” These signs point to His divine Sonship and salvific mission, revealing Him as the source of eternal life. Jesus recognized that the people sought Him not because they sought spiritual understanding or insight into His divine nature, but solely for material satisfaction—another meal.
The crowd desired physical food, but Jesus desired to give them spiritual nourishment to strengthen their faith so that they would believe and receive the eternal and superabundant treasures He came to bestow. Jesus then exhorted them to work “for the food that endures for eternal life.” That “food” is their belief in Him, whom the Father sent to bring eternal life.
We often find ourselves desiring the passing things of this world more than we desire God. It is natural, not sinful, to experience physical hunger and desire food. But if such desires become the driving force in our lives, then they become disordered.
In addition to natural desires, our spiritual desires can also become misguided. For example, if we seek Jesus in prayer solely because we have a favor to ask of Him, then we are acting much like the crowd in today’s Gospel, and Jesus’ words to them would apply to us: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
Our pursuit of Jesus must not be centered on our own ideas of what is best for us. Only God knows what is best. We must understand this and allow Him to redirect our desires to seek what is eternal. We must not only seek but also desire God’s work in our lives. His greatest work is that we “believe in the one he sent.” We must desire faith in Jesus and His eternal plan, abandoning every superficial or misguided pursuit.
Reflect today on what you desire most from your relationship with our Lord. If your ambitions are earthly and fleeting, look higher. Seek the eternal realities God wishes to bestow, and work to realign your desires toward those alone. God is aware of our natural needs and will provide for them according to His will when we prioritize understanding Him, His divine Sonship, and His mission. Learn from the crowd in today’s Gospel and heed Jesus’ gentle rebuke. Believe in the One the Father sent—Jesus, the Son of God—and all good and eternal things will be lavished upon you according to His will.
My heavenly King, You desire to be the King of my life, directing my every action and controlling my every desire. I give all control to You, dear Lord, and ask that you redirect my every ambition and desire in accord with Your perfect will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, as I contemplate the figures of the early Church, help me to be inspired by their example of zeal and courage. I want to spread the Gospel in my community and family. Grant me the gift of counsel so that I know when to speak and what to say.
1. Stephen’s Witness to Christ: In the First Reading, the deacon Stephen is presented as a model of a Christian believer who accomplishes the works of God. Stephen believed in the one whom God the Father sent to save the world from sin and death. He preached without fear because he knew that his message was from the Holy Spirit. Stephen took up the difficult theme of freedom from the old Law of Moses and the end of the old Temple worship. Stephen had powerful insights, and it would take almost two decades for the Church to clarify his points at the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 49. The people, the elders, and the scribes who heard Stephen accused him of saying things against “this holy place” (the Temple in Jerusalem) and the Law of Moses. Something similar happened at Jesus’ trial. There, the religious authorities accused Jesus of saying “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands” (Mark 14:58). What Jesus actually said was: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Only after Jesus was raised from the dead did his disciples come to understand that he was speaking about the destruction of the temple of his body. The risen, glorified body of Jesus is the New Temple, present in mystery in the Church on earth, where God is worshiped in spirit and in truth.
“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “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. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:25–27
What do you work for in life? That which ultimately perishes? Or that which is eternal? This is an important question to sincerely answer. Too often we spend most of our lives putting most of our time and energy into those things that have little value for eternity.
The day before the above quoted conversation, Jesus had multiplied the loaves and fishes and fed five thousand households. The people were so impressed that the next day, when they were hungry again, they came looking for Jesus and found Him on the other side of the lake. Jesus, of course, immediately understands the situation. He realizes that the crowd of people who found Him were more interested in another meal than they were in the spiritual food that is eternal. So Jesus gently uses the opportunity to give them this short lesson about what is most important. The “food that endures for eternal life” is ultimately faith in Jesus.
Imagine if you were one of those people who witnessed, first hand, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. What sort of an impact would that have had on you? Would it have drawn you into a deep faith in Jesus, the Son of God? Or would you have been more impressed with the free and miraculous food? What’s interesting is that Jesus feeds the five thousand when they are not expecting it and not desiring it. But when they do come expecting it and desiring it the next day, He refuses. Jesus refuses another miracle because He wants the people to look deeper to the eternal reality.
In our own lives, living primarily for the deeper and eternal reality is often hard to do. It’s easy to keep our eyes on the superficial and less important aspects of life. How do I make more money? Or buy a new car? Or have a fancier meal? How can I better entertain myself? What new piece of clothing should I buy? And the list goes on. Of course, none of these things are evil, but they are all passing and will not have an effect upon our eternal soul. And, in fact, if we give too much attention to the superficial and least important aspects of life, they will have the effect of distracting us from that which is most important.
Reflect, today, upon this challenge from Jesus. Do not work for that which perishes; work for that which is eternal. Look at your priorities in life. Where is your focus? What concerns you the most every day? Hopefully your greatest concern is to grow deeper in faith in the Son of God. Hopefully it is to live the charity that is eternal. If you honestly look at your life and the goals you have and see yourself overly concerned with the things of this world, then allow these words of our Lord to speak to you directly so that you are storing up riches for eternal life.
My most glorious Lord, You are the Food that is eternal. You are the Food for everlasting life. Give me the wisdom I need, dear Lord, to turn my eyes from the passing and least important things of this world and to turn, instead, to that which is eternal. May I keep my eyes upon You and be nourished by my faith in You. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. When the Lord Gave Thanks: Today’s Gospel passage connects the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-15) and the walking on water (John 6:16-21) with the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:32-58). Here, Jesus prepares his hearers for the teaching that he is the life-giving bread that God gives from heaven. “First, he instructs them that they need to elevate their minds above physical bread, which sustains earthly life, to heavenly bread, which gives eternal life (John 6:26-27). Second, Jesus establishes the discourse’s basic principle: people should work to obtain the bread that lasts for eternal life, which he provides (John 6:27). Third, Jesus introduces the theme of God’s work, which leads to faith in Jesus and the reception of the life-giving bread” (Martin and Wright, The Gospel of John, 120). When John points back to the place of the bread miracle, he uses the verb “eucharistein,” which means “to give thanks.” The Sacrament, instituted by Christ at the Last Supper, is called “Eucharist” because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. The name recalls the Jewish blessings that proclaim – especially during a meal – God’s works: creation, redemption, and sanctification (see CCC, 1328).
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