Do Not Labour For The Food That Perishes

Readings: Exodus 16:2-15, Psalm 78:3-54, Ephesians 4:17-24, John 6:24-35

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” (John 6:26-27)

In our Gospel passage last Sunday, we read of Jesus feeding the multitude. After eating, the crowd was so pleased with Jesus that they wanted to make Him king immediately. Knowing what they wanted to do, Jesus quickly withdrew to the mountains. This is where today’s Gospel passage takes off. The crowd later found Jesus on the other side of the sea and questioned Him: “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus could read their minds. He knew exactly what they had come for and said to them: “Do not labour for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to eternal life.” This brings us to our lessons for today:

1. Do Not Seek God Only For Perishable Bread.
If the only reason you are in church today is to ask God for bread (material blessings that can pass away), then you are not different from the crowds who wanted Jesus to feed them again because they were hungry. Jesus disappointed the crowds – He refused to feed them the second time. Seeking God for bread alone brings disappointment. The bread will not always be there. It is not as if God cannot feed you with bread; He does not want you to worship the bread He gives you.

Consider the sound admonition of St. John: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17). This world and everything in it is passing away. Let us not reduce our worship of God to the attainment of passing things.

The crowds even tried to lure Jesus by asking Him to work a sign for them to prove that He came from God, suggesting that their fathers ate the manna in the desert. Jesus knew faith built on miracles was unsustainable, so He refused to work on any sign.

2. Do Not Return To Egypt Because of Bread.
The problem with seeing Jesus as a bread provider is that when we do not get the bread we seek, we complain and murmur like the Israelites in today’s first reading. “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:3). Surprisingly, this is how many of us think; we assume there are alternatives to God. Some Christians move from church to church and even from church to shrine in search of bread. Some even go as far as consulting native doctors, occult powers, juju spirits and all sorts of demonic media. Don’t return to Egypt. Don’t give up on God. If God cannot do it, trust me, nobody else can do it.

Many Christians today are entangled in all kinds of spiritual bondage because they returned to Egypt; they bowed to Satan and sold their souls in exchange for the passing things of this world. Jesus would ask: “For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36). Be faithful to God even when your prayers are unanswered. Do not treat God like a tool you can use and dump, then pick up again when needed.

3. Do Not Be Attached to This World.
Last Sunday, after the crowd had eaten their fill, they wanted to make Jesus a king, but Jesus escaped. In his words to Pilate: “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.” (John 18:36). Many Christians do not realise that Jesus’ kingship is not of this world, that Jesus desires not merely to feed our stomachs but to lead us to eternal life. Remember that you are a pilgrim (Cf. John 15:19), and nothing here can satisfy.

Jesus said to the crowds: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (John 6:27). The crowds said to Jesus: “Lord, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). To understand what Jesus meant by “he who comes to me shall not hunger”, let us remember a similar statement of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ The Gentiles seek all these things; your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek his kingdom and righteousness first, and all these things shall also be yours.” (Matthew 6:31-33).

In a similar vein, Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well: “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14). In summary, Jesus can satisfy the greatest desires of our hearts, but He wants us to seek Him rather than His blessings. Jesus wants us to labour (pray) not for perishable things but eternal life.

4. Do Not Remain in the Darkness of Sin: Seek Righteousness and Holiness.
St. Paul beautifully summarises all that we have said so far when he writes in our second reading: “Put off your old nature which is corrupt through deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit, put on the new nature created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24). Stop labouring only for perishable food and seek God’s kingdom today. Begin to read the Bible more than ever before.

Today’s Gospel acclamation reminds us of Jesus’s words to defeat the devil during His temptations: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Change your prayer points to heavenly treasures. Put off that old nature with its insatiable desires and lusts. Know that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus is Life. Jesus is all you need. Jesus alone can satisfy the deepest longings of your heart.

Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, free us from labouring only for the perishable things in this world. Teach us to set our hearts on eternal life. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Exodus 16:2-15, Psalm 78:3-54, Ephesians 4:17-24, John 6:24-35).

@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu