Commentary on John 6:35-40

Again in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his listeners very clearly that he is the Bread of Life. All those who partake of this Bread will never again be either hungry or thirsty. The whole life of Jesus—his actions and words and his relationships with those around him—are a rich source on which we can draw.

In a sense, of course, we will always hunger and thirst for this full life, but by approaching and imbibing him and his spirit, our hunger and thirst are ever being satisfied, even while we continue to hunger and thirst for more. There will never be a time when we will want to stop eating and drinking from this Source; when we do, we will stop living.

Jesus reproves his listeners for their lack of faith in him.

But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

The question is: how much of Jesus did they really see? How deep was their perception of who he truly was and is?

That may be our problem too. Without a deep trust and total commitment to Christ and all he stands for, we may find that we do not have full access to that Bread of Life which we need so much. The search for the fullness of Christ is one that we will never complete in this life. We only hope that we never stop searching. There will never be a day on this earth when we will be able to say: “I know Christ fully.” Not even the whole Church can make that claim.

Yet Jesus intensely wants to share that Bread, that nourishment with us.

This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life…

Let us open our hearts today so that Jesus can fill them with his life-giving love. For he says:

Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away…

Jesus has a mission. In a phrase repeated six times in this chapter, he says:

I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

And what is the will of the Father?

…that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day.

This verse summarises the whole chapter. God wants everyone to be with him “on the last day”. On our part, we have to learn how to “see the Son” and “believe in him,” so that one day we can say with St Paul:

…it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.
(Gal 2:20)

When that happens, we will know that we have truly been filled with the Bread that is Christ.