Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Acts 6:8-15  +  John 6:22-29
May 1, 2017

“‘…believe in the one He sent.’”

In today’s Gospel passage from John, we hear the crowd ask Jesus two questions.  The first question they ask is, “Rabbi [meaning, “Teacher”], when did you get here?”  Jesus doesn’t answer their question, but He confronts them with the fact that they are only concerning themselves about their physical hunger.  He shifts attention from the physical hunger He satisfied through the miracle offered them shortly before, to the spiritual hunger He will meet through the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood which He will offer them later.

The crowd wants in on the deal, so they ask Jesus their second question, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”  Jesus’ response is brief.  The work of God is to have faith in the One He sent.  In other words, they do not themselves have the means to satisfy this hunger:  there is no spiritual refrigerator, supermarket, or field for them to go to.  Their spiritual hunger is not only for something to fill the emptiness inside their souls, but also for something to fill the emptiness around them.  For there is nothing around them capable of sustaining them eternally.

N.B.  The optional Scripture readings for today’s feast of St. Joseph the Worker are Genesis 1:26—2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15,17,23-24; Psalm 90:2,3-4,12-13,14,16; Matthew 13:54-58.