John 6:22a, 24b-35 - On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw ... that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, [and] they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal." Then they said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." So they said to Him, "Then what sign do You do, that we may see and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to Him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst."

Have you ever heard hungry babies crying? They do it with their whole heart. There's no politeness about it; they don't say, "If you don't mind, I'd really like a bit of lunch here." No, they give their crying everything they've got; and they count on their parents to answer them.

The people in today's reading are hungry. They've followed Jesus across the lake because He has something they want, though they were not real clear on what it is. And Jesus doesn't turn them away. He offers to give them what they really need—He offers them Himself. As He says, "The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Of course they want that! They say, "Sir, give us this bread always." And we say that too, don't we? We may be adults who've learned to say "please" and to wait for what we need, but deep down inside, when it comes to Jesus, we are still those hungry babies—crying out for the only One who can feed us, who can ease the ache in our hearts.

And that's what Jesus does! He gives Himself freely to us. When we call, He answers—and He gives us Himself, through Baptism, through Communion, through the Bible. He doesn't resent our crying. He encourages it. Jesus has come into this world to give us life through His own suffering, death, and resurrection; and now that we belong to Him and trust in Him, we will never go hungry again.

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, You feed Me when I'm hungry. Thank You, dear Lord.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. When you are really, really hungry, can you think about anything else?

2. When have you felt that hunger for God?

3. How does Jesus satisfy your deepest needs?

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 119:1-88    1 Thessalonians 5

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