FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
15 April 2024 EASTER MONDAY 3
WORD of the DAY
The next day, the crowd that
remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that
Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples
had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten
the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor
his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum
looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi,
when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but
because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but
for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus
answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the
one he sent.” (John 6: 22-29)
How shall I live this Word? 
Jesus does not answer the question, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” He responds to the real intentions of the people. In so doing, He separates what doesn’t matter (how I got here), what has relative importance (material food) and what has real importance (the human commitment to which He wants to lead them).
“I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” The ‘sign’ was an invitation to sharing, but they were only interested in satisfying their own needs. They emptied the ‘sign’ of its content.
This search for Jesus is not correct, for they seek only reassurance. Jesus goes straight to the point and unmasks their intention. They do not seek Him, but the bread He has given them. They do not seek Him because He has opened the door to a more human future.
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” The proposal to work for the food that gives life is the synthesis of all His message. It is the same for that time and for today.
Lord Jesus, I want to be with You because You are the food that gives meaning and fullness to life.
The voice of a Friar Marcos, Theologian
The search for real food requires effort. It is a journey of struggle, of overcoming, of purification, of regeneration, of death, and of new birth.
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E-mail: srmterzo@gmail.com Website: www.sanbiagio.org info@sanbiagio.org Blog: livingscripture.wordpress.com -Comment: Sr. Yarislet Berrios, fma
