Day after the Miracle

Day after the Miracle
Pentecost 11; John 6:24-35

When they found him next day Jesus said:
“You have eaten your fill of the loaves,
but you fail to see feeding as sign.”
They were asking what works he would do
to be proof that was worth their belief,
though they’d seen a child’s lunch feed them all.

Seems our eyesight’s as blinkered as theirs,
for though miracles happen around,
we think matter is all that exists.
Do we seek him for what we might get?
Can we recognize hunger of soul?
If we saw signs of God would we know?

Food that perishes? We are replete,
and we throw away more than we eat,
but our inner ache won’t be appeased.
We are lame though we walk on two feet,
We’re not well though our bodies are strong.
It is meaning we crave but can’t see.

“Bread of life” is what Christ claims to be.
We’re dismissive of truth’s metaphor,
and unseeing to portents and signs.
Yet undaunted he teaches and heals,
and our hunger and thirst lead us on
to recognize he’s what we need.
	Barbara Messner 1/08/2024