The seemingly sincere but ignorant question at the start of today’s gospel, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?” (John 6:30), makes one ask, ‘was not the incident of feeding the five thousand, just the other day, miraculous enough that they still want a sign to believe?’ More often than not, we too fall into similar situations.

We attend a prayer meeting, receive a word of healing or deliverance and we go away rejoicing but fall into despair the next day because of another crisis. We then start to worry again and wonder whether our God is really for us. We have- just like the people of old- let the circumstances trap us, trials overcome us, and darkness rule us. Foolishly we look for signs and wonders so that we can have hope. Into this chaos, our victorious Lord enters and declares “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) We have the privilege of tasting this living bread in the form of the Holy Eucharist. However, the question remains; Do we never hunger or thirst? I can relate to the many times I take my needs to the feet of God and wait on Him for an answer but worry and fret within until the needs are met. My worry shows that I still hunger and thirst. In the first reading, we are intro- duced to a person, who seems to be so satisfied that he cares for noth- ing. Whatever Stephen seems to be doing in this particular moment, it is definitely not seeking gain for himself. On the contrary he attracts strong contempt through his words of truth, that put his life in danger. Yet, even the danger of death has no hold on Stephen as he is being fed the bread from heaven. Stephen goes into the extent of praying for those who persecute him, following the example of Jesus, his master.

This is the life we are called to live in, unwavering through the midst of trials. We are invited to look beyond our needs, and Jesus, the bread of life will come into our lives to nourish us on a daily basis empowering us to rise beyond our being.

Prayer: Abba Father, as we are fed and nourished by the living bread from heaven, free us from within to live for you and others.Amen.