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Work for the Food That Endures
Where We Are
Alleluia! Monday of the Third Week of Easter begins a sustained journey through the Bread of Life discourse in John 6. Yesterday the crowd witnessed the multiplication of loaves; now they pursue Jesus across the Sea of Galilee, hungry for more. But Jesus challenges their motivation. In Acts, Stephen, one of the seven deacons chosen last week, is full of grace and power, performing signs and wonders. Opposition arises from synagogue members who cannot withstand his wisdom and the Spirit with which he speaks. Both readings ask the same question: What are you really seeking?
The Word
In Acts, Stephen performs great signs among the people, but members of certain synagogues begin to argue with him. Unable to counter his wisdom and the Spirit, they secretly instigate men to accuse him of blasphemy. They seize Stephen and bring him before the Sanhedrin with false witnesses. Stephen's face, Luke tells us, appears "like the face of an angel."
In John's Gospel, the crowd finds Jesus on the other side of the sea and asks when he arrived. Jesus sees through their question: "You seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life." They ask what they must do. Jesus answers, "This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom he has sent."
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Reflect
Jesus is not impressed by the crowd's enthusiasm. He knows why they have come: not because they understood the sign of the multiplied loaves, but because their stomachs were full. They want more bread. Jesus wants to give them something far greater.
"Do not work for the food that perishes." This is not a dismissal of physical needs. Jesus himself fed the five thousand; he clearly cares about hunger. But he refuses to let his mission be reduced to material provision. The bread he offers is himself, the bread of life that satisfies a hunger no earthly food can touch.
The crowd's question is telling: "What must we do?" They are thinking in terms of effort, achievement, merit. Jesus's answer reframes everything. The "work" God requires is not a task but a relationship: believe in the one whom God has sent. Faith is the foundation, not a checklist of accomplishments. Everything else flows from this trust.
Stephen's story in Acts illustrates what this faith looks like when it is fully alive. He is so filled with the Spirit that his opponents cannot argue with him. His face shines. The very presence of someone who has truly believed in the one whom God has sent is itself a sign. Stephen does not need to perform miracles to be threatening to the established order; his transformed life is miracle enough.
But transformation attracts opposition. Those who cannot withstand Stephen's wisdom resort to lies and manipulation. This pattern will repeat throughout history: authentic faith provokes resistance, because it exposes the insufficiency of every substitute.
Living It
What kind of bread are you seeking from Jesus? Are you coming to him for comfort, convenience, or material provision, while he is offering you something deeper? Today, sit with Jesus's question: "Why are you seeking me?" Be honest with yourself about your motivations in prayer. Then hear his invitation: "Believe in the one whom God has sent." This is not a one-time decision but a daily turning toward Christ. Let your faith be visible today, like Stephen's, not through grand gestures, but through the Spirit and wisdom that mark a life oriented toward eternal food.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we confess that we often seek you for the wrong reasons. We come for comfort when you offer transformation. We come for bread when you offer yourself. Redirect our hunger toward the food that endures to eternal life. Teach us that the work of God is not a checklist but a relationship: believing in you, the one the Father has sent. Give us Stephen's radiance, the kind that comes from being so full of your Spirit that our very faces reflect your light. Amen.
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