First reading Acts 6:8-15
They could not get the better of Stephen because the Spirit prompted what he said
Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say, ‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.
Responsorial Psalm 118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30
They are happy whose life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Though princes sit plotting against me
I ponder on your statutes.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counsellors.
I declared my ways and you answered;
teach me your statutes.
Make me grasp the way of your precepts
and I will muse on your wonders.
Keep me from the way of error
and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me.
Gospel John 6:22-29
Do not work for food that cannot last, but for food that endures to eternal life
After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his disciples saw him walking on the water. Next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had been eaten. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’
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Food that endures
In today’s gospel, the people who witnessed the multiplication of the bread and fish came searching for Jesus, hoping that He could provide them with more food. When Jesus saw them coming eagerly towards Him, He knew that they were there for the wrong reasons. They were looking for physical food and temporal satisfaction. Therefore, He told them, “Do not work for food that goes bad, but work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you…”. Jesus’ words challenge us to look beyond our physical hunger for material things and to dive deeper into our spiritual needs- the hunger for God, for His love and peace. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy the deep longings of our hearts.
Like the crowd, we may ask Jesus, “What must we do if we are to carry out God’s work?” The answer is that the work God wants from us is to believe in the one He has sent. This means that we need to believe in Jesus by living, acting, and speaking like Him. To believe is not just saying words, but we express our faith in Jesus by seeking ways to serve and love others, and aligning our lives with God’s purpose for us.
Reflective question:
Am I aware of my deeper hunger for God, and does my hunger lead me towards Jesus?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
