Readings: Acts 6:8–15; Psalm 119:23–24, 26–27, 29–30; John 6:22–29.
A recurring theme in the Gospel of John is that Our Lord performs a series of signs so that people believe in him. In today’s Gospel the crowd goes looking for Jesus after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, but Jesus knows they are either just curious about what miracle he is going to do next or are placing their faith more in his ability to provide them a free lunch.
Our Lord is inviting the crowd today to have a faith in him that is not just connected with getting results. Sometimes in our relationship with God we treat him more as the guy with the credit card who’ll always treat us to lunch than as our friend. When the credit card is not forthcoming, or the lunch, do we care about the cardholder? Friendship involves give and take; a true friend is with you whether you’re living the high life or penniless, whether you’re healthy or sick, whether you’re on the top of the world or in the depths of despair. When our focus shifts from the person who treated us to lunch to the lunch itself, or its absence, we know something is off.
Our Lord has done a lot for us: the world we live in, the air we breathe, the people we love, our very existence are all thanks to him. Let’s make a resolution today to not have an attitude of “what have you done for me lately?” Let’s believe in him and remember all that he’s done for us, knowing he may not always give us what we want and when we want it, but he’ll always give us what we need.