This chapter in John’s Gospel is our walk into the nourishment that the Eucharist is for our faith journey. It picks up the Providential care God shows us; it emphasis the nourishment God wants to offer us on our faith journey; and it provides the key that opens the door to eternalize that god wants us to enjoy.

In this post-Easter time, Jesus and his disciples are depicted as wandering around to a great many places. That forcefully reminds us just how ubiquitous the Risen Lord is. But even more, it suggests to us that our post-Easter experience should be one of constant searching for the presence of the Risen Nor. Now that Risen Lord is with u, our lives should not be distracted with escapist diversions but concentrated by our daily and constant search for God’s renewing presence.

Let's face it — the Resurrection is unbelievable. Even seeing the risen Lord is not going to convince us otherwise. It's easier to believe in ghosts or to doubt one's own sanity.

Today in the Gospel for Mass we see Luke putting the pieces of his message about the resurrection of Jesus together and highlighting the key features he wants his community appreciate and accept about Jesus - that the one who was crucified as predicted is identical to the one who was raised.

This week, minorities including Christians have struggled for basic freedoms in repressive regimes in Asia as nations continue to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic. These stories and more in this week’s podcast.

Today’s Gospel reading is one of the most loved of all readings in the New Testament because it grabs just how many of us meet Jesus - when we are caught in personal turmoil and looking for him to still our hearts and focus our direction.

John’s Gospel has both the story of the institution of the Eucharist but he has a deeper and richer narrative to support it and the first part of the Gospel reading for today’s Mass. But the resonances in this account of the feeding of the crowds are powerful and extensive reaching back to the creation stories in the Book of Genesis, the feeding of the Israelites in the desert and much more. But it all turns on God’s gracious, nourishing and saving initiative.

Our faith life starts and grows in simple ways from an invitation God offers us and to which we respond generously and openly. And that is how it grows too. The reach and demand of the claim and call God makes on us through our lives may extend us in ways we don’t like and call on us for things we may not want to let go of. But it remains the same God all and the God who ask us offer ourselves is the same one who resources us to meet the challenged respond to the invitation.

Today’s Gospel text at Mass is the most cryptic and succinct summary of just what God is doing in Jesus and doing for us in Jesus - saving us. But God’s love focus is sodden and complete That despite God’s generosity and abundance, we still have to respond if we are to benefit. We are free to accept or not what goodness God offers.

The Gospel of John has an abundance of graphic images that abundantly declare what the message of Jesus is and how he works in us. Today, John utilizes an image from the Old Testament that has the Serpent held up and attracting people to it for the cleansing and purification of all who receive God and declare their faith in the Son of God.