In today's Gospel, John 6: 22-29, the 5000+ people who had been fed by Jesus go looking for him. His disciples had left to go across the sea to Capernaum but Jesus had not gone with them. When these people find Jesus, He reads their hearts, knowing that they simply want more to eat. "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 look 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." The people then inquire of him what they can do "accomplish the work of God". Jesus replies: "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
I suggest that we ask ourselves the question: For whom/what am I looking? Am I truly looking for the things of heaven, for the strength I need to be God's co-worker here on earth in building a Kingdom of love, mercy and peace? Am I looking for the wisdom to make a difference in the world and to bring forth new life out of that which depletes life, out of the stirred-up chaos, the "muddy messiness" of our lives so that new life emerges? Or do I go running to Jesus simply to relieve my physical hunger and not to be empowered as co-creator, as peacemaker, as one who makes the new happen and who turns weapons "into plowshares"(cf Joel 3:10).
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