So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ³⁰So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³²Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” ³⁵Jesus 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.

 

Have you ever had to make a choice between the right thing and right now?

I have this problem sometimes. Let me give you an example.

Have you ever wanted - or maybe even really needed - something that costs more money than you have to spend? When that happens it means that you have to do some saving, right? And once you save up enough money you can get that special thing. The only problem is, saving can be really hard.  And sometimes it's tempting to take the money you already have and spend it on something you can have right now...even if that thing is much less important than the thing you might have saved it for.

There's a word for that: Impulsivity. When you are impulsive you make quick decisions that might seem like a good idea right now - but aren't always the smartest in the long run. It might be tempting to have two bowls of ice cream - just because it tastes so good while you're eating it - but when it gives you a stomach ache you might decide that that impulsive decision wasn't a great one.

Sometimes doing the right thing means fighting our impulsivity.

In today's gospel story Jesus tells the crowd that has gathered around him not to work for "food that perishes, but for the food that endures eternal life." As with many of his lessons, he's not really talking about food here.

What he's telling them, in part, is that they need not to think so much about things that they want right now that they make impulsive or selfish choices. Doing God's work often means thinking ahead about what's really the right thing to do...and that's not always going to be the "right now" thing.

Will you make wise choices this week? Great.

Let's pray.

Dear God,

Help us to make wise choices that may be pleasing to you.

Amen