People have different reasons why they seek God. For some people, God is needed when there is a problem while others try to have Him in their lives as a personal friend, Father, and God. There are many others who do not want to be bothered about God but yet cry out to Him in times when all assistance fails.
In today’s gospel Jesus said, “You seek me, not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26). John 6 is where we read the great Eucharistic discourse. We see that Jesus introduced the Spiritual Meal (Holy Eucharist) with His miraculous feeding of the multitude. Of course, people came back again and again seeking Him.
Insight
Pay attention to this interesting insight: “Do not work for food that perishes” (John 6:27a). Basically, Jesus translates people’s search for Him as work! Yes, it is a lot of work to search for God because He is a spiritual being. Despite Jesus being in the flesh at the time, it was still work to seek Him. It appears Jesus saw the amount of time, energy, and resources that people were putting on the line in order to get a glimpse of Him. We might as well do it for the right reasons to get the worth of it.
“Work for the Gift”!
“Work rather for food that endures which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27b). How do we understand work and gift as one item in this passage? If you are receiving a gift, it means you did not work for it. You get paid for work. But Jesus is clear about what He is teaching here: “Work for the Gift”! When you work hard for several years to purchase a favorite item, usually we work harder to preserve such item because its value is worth more than money. Jesus is asking us to put more effort in securing the gift of God in us. St Paul echoes similar instruction: “Work out your salvation with trembling and fear” (Phil 2:12).
This is why the Lord said at the end of today’s gospel that believing in God is the work of God. To work for the gift (of God) does not entail that we earn our salvation. It means our honest effort is required to preserve the gift of salvation. This includes reverence and worship of the Holy Eucharist—the Body and Blood of Christ; receiving all the Sacraments as the inner life of God in us.
With the rate of secularism in our world today, we know it takes a lot of work on our part to uphold and preserve the gift of faith and salvation we have received. The Liturgy is the work of Jesus through which He accomplished our salvation. Our work in life can only bear enduring fruit if it is centered on this accomplished work of Christ. Isn’t this why we ought to seek Jesus? He holds the keys to what we truly need.
If we value God foremost as the 1st Commandment commands, then our hearts and minds will reflect foremost we are seeking God in relationship as students, pilgrims, and children to grow in His love as well as receiving our daily bread.