Last Updated on April 30, 2025 by Gloria M. Chang
“I AM the Bread of Life (2 panels)”
John 6:35
Sunday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year B)
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
John 6:24-35
So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Rivers of Living Water
Mortal life, plagued by never-ending cycles of hunger and thirst, yearns for satisfaction. Not even death can extinguish humanity’s innate desire for the infinite good. Jesus offers himself as eternal bread—the gateway to communion in the Holy Trinity. The “I AM” who spoke to Moses in the burning bush became flesh in the Word, the Son of God made man, who with the Father sends us the life-giving Holy Spirit.
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:37-38 (ESV)
I AM the Bread of Life.
Whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《我是生命的糧》
「我就是生命的糧。
到我這裡來的，必定不餓；
信我的，永遠不渴。」
Dear GMC, how can we thank someone who brings us the words of everlasting life so beautifully?
This marvelous work of God!
Divine assistance with my needs,
Freedom from worry,
Wondering how I will survive.
Each morning God’s mercy is new,
Never limited, ever flow.
When I bow in humble surrender,
My weakness wanes; I come alive!
Amen!