It is amusing in today's Gospel to witness the hearers of Jesus ask for a sign. They had just witnessed 5,000 people fed from five loaves of bread, and a few fish. And yet they seem to look right through Jesus and expect something more. Even in our churches today though, people are forgiven, lives that are challenged are changed, the naked are clothed, the hungry are fed, and those in the midst of anguish are consoled, yet people complain that the Church is boring and that they do not get anything out of Church. Jesus comes into bread and wine, and some folks want a laser and sound show.
To recognize Jesus means that we have to recognize our own hungers and pains. It can be difficult to admit that we are in need, or to talk about we are really hungry for. So if we ask for more signs we can move away from the real issues and concerns of our life, and the world around us. St. John tries to move us away from false religiosity, and towards conversion and discipleship. Recall the story of the man born blind whereas the witnesses were so busy in trying to determine the man's identity, that they totally miss the event of this man's healing.
If the Eucharist we receive is Jesus then we have to re-examine how we receive Communion, and what we do after we leave Church. St. Paul is quite a stickler about responding to the Eucharist through faithful lives. Even more so today we cannot have an experience of Jesus and fail to grasp the meaning. I recent years we have allowed ourselves to be concerned about matters that do not make a difference in real life. Just as Jesus becomes a sign of the Father in heaven. as individuals, and as a Church, we need to reflect Jesus the Christ.
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