Bread is an essential part of a meal for many people. People eat bread, sometimes with different kinds of vegetables, meat and fruits. Sometimes, bread is eaten with different kinds of jam, butter, margarine, peanut butter and other types of spreads. In some cases, bread could be eaten on its own, and some even dip pieces of bread into a cup of coffee, milo, chocolate or some other beverage, or even dip into some form of mixture or sauce. In Malaysia, we can find bread in other forms, such as chapati, roti canai (also known as “roti prata”), naan and thosai. When dipped in dal curry, fish curry or other kinds of curry and sauces, the taste and flavour is enhanced further.
But as we would notice, the kind of bread we eat is nourishing only to our bodies. What about the kind of bread which would nourish our spiritual side, our soul? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe.” The bread which we get for a meal will never satisfy and nourish us completely, since we would become hungry and thirsty again after a while. Jesus is offering us Himself, the bread of life, the kind of bread which would satisfy us both body and soul, provided that we come to Him and believe in Him.
Each day, Jesus is inviting us to partake in this bread of life, the Eucharist, His body, which is real food and real drink, to strengthen us and help us progress in our spiritual journey. It seems strange that there are some who make so much effort to find other forms of bread which satisfies us only temporary, when Jesus is offering us the best bread available and moreover, free of charge. Are we still insisting in going after only worldly bread, or are we making more effort to regularly partake in that heavenly bread for the betterment of our soul?