Take one look at me and you can see that I'm pretty well fed. It would take a long time for my body to reach the point of starving. I'm going to guess that most of our bodies are pretty well fed. How is it with our soul, though? Jesus was deeply concerned, as you might expect, with the condition of a person's soul. In these chapters, especially chapter 6, Jesus puts a new twist on the idea of eating and feeding ourselves.
Chapter 6 begins with the account of Jesus feeding the multitudes. On the surface, it reads as if Jesus merely provided an evening meal for them. What really happened, though, was the nourishment of their souls. The people came to him, looking to hear him teach, to see him heal, to witness the presence of God in their midst. This food would nourish the souls that might have been starving inside them. After that, Jesus begins to teach that he is the Bread from Heaven. He is the nourishment for the soul of the person and the world. Many of us may have a favorite food or two that always "hits the spot" on our hunger or taste. Only Jesus can "hit the spot" on our spiritual hunger.
For many, though, this is, as the disciples declare, a hard teaching. They don't understand how this man can satisfy the hunger in their soul. Their conception of the Messiah had nothing to do with spiritual matters; they felt the Messiah would be a political figure. Once they realized that Jesus had no intention of being a political leader, many deserted him. From that point, many others began to question him and be in conflict with Jesus and his teachings.
Are Jesus' words too difficult for us? Do we want to desert him and quest after the things of this world? Are we allowing Jesus to nourish our soul as only He can?
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