Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

John’s Gospel doesn’t have a last supper where the Eucharist is modelled. Rather there is this extensive reflection on the Eucharist – set in the synagogue at Capernaum. The ‘I am’ sayings in this Gospel indicate the divinity of Jesus and point to what God does for us. If we follow the example of Jesus – his obedience to God, his loving, compassionate relationships – we will be whole. If we believe in Jesus we will not go through life constantly searching, looking for the ‘the next thing’.

A developmental task of young people is to ‘find themselves’. Who am I? What is my unique role in life? How can I be happy? Our task is to remind the young people in our care that they are good as they are. God has placed goodness in them and it is their task to find that goodness and build their community with it – like the young woman I teach who is coaching gymnastics to local 5 year olds. Coming to Jesus, coming to God is to believe in God-with-us – which is the same as being a member of a community – building up others and being built up by them in turn. Our needs are met…and we are resting in God.

Have a great week…and break if you get one!

Patrick