Give us that bread always

After the Feeding of the Five Thousand, the crowd come looking for Jesus. But he greets them with a challenge. Have they come looking for him because they have seen the signs, or just because they have been fed? In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ miracles are always described as ‘signs,’ and to ‘see the signs’ is to come to faith in him. The people recall the manna that their ancestors ate in the desert, a sign of God’s love for his chosen people. Jesus challenges them to see that, now, God is giving them true bread, the Bread of Life. And the Bread of Life is Jesus himself, who will feed his disciples with his own body and blood; the supreme expression of God’s love. We gather to celebrate the Eucharist because we have seen the signs, and know that we need to be fed with the Bread of Life.

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