March 25

John 6:27-40 

In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus rebuking the crowd because of their preoccupation with things that will pass away rather than with matters of the spirit.  Not surprisingly, this passage takes place shortly after Jesus feeds the multitudes.  The crowd notes that Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery, feeding them along the way.  Jesus corrects their belief, noting that it was the Father who provided “true bread from heaven” and not Moses.  In one sense, we see Jesus beginning to address the messianic expectations of the Jews.  While Jesus fulfils the hope of the messiah, he is not the sort of messiah they expect.  Similarly, while Jesus will take away hunger and thirst, he will not do so in the way they expect. 

Today’s reading from Romans emphasizes this same point:  if we set our minds on spiritual matters, we will live more spiritual lives.  Our orientation and our priorities will determine our conduct.  During this time of Lent, we try again and again to focus on spiritual matters.  We cannot help but notice how worldly matters (our finances, our jobs, the television) seem to have a powerful gravitational pull, tugging us away from our spiritual lives.  That struggle, the Gospel reminds us, points us to our lives beyond this world, to our real home.  Jesus tells us that if we focus on our lives in Christ, in faith, we will not perish, but will be raised up to new life.