A Reflection from the Fuel Daily Readings App for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Click here to read the reading.

Recently, I had to go gluten-free. I instantly felt the absence of good bread in my life! Of course, there’s gluten-free bread but something about it just isn’t the same as a big yummy Turkish loaf…

I’m not the only person who’s got a love of carbs either. In the Bible, bread plays a significant role, and it plays a role in Jewish tradition too. It’s a symbolic representation of how God sustains us and provides for us.

In this Gospel, Jesus refers to Moses and his people eating manna in the desert when they wandered for forty years. God provided this heavenly food to sustain them - after all, other food would spoil and you can’t grow much in the desert anyway!

It’s the same for us. In our world, we can often plant many seeds that bear no fruit or find many things we’ve put our hopes in spoil or go rotten. It can feel like a real desert out here.

But Jesus has come to fulfil the scriptures that said God would provide bread from heaven - an ongoing sustenance, a spiritual sustenance that keeps us going through whatever life throws our way and whatever spiritual battles we endure.

Jesus is quite literally the bread of life. We consume him every time we go to Mass if we’ve received our first Holy Communion. This is explained later in John’s gospel when Jesus tells his disciples at the last supper, “truly truly I say to you … this is my body given up for you.” God has provided Jesus for us in atonement for our sins: Jesus who never lets us down, never leaves us dry, never leaves us without promise of hope or peace.

There are many things in life that leave us dissatisfied or disappointed. But no matter what, if we’re receiving the Eucharist we can trust that God is sustaining and supporting us, and that He’ll give us the grace to do all things for His kingdom - because Jesus told us so!

No longer do I worry about my pretty average gluten-free bread. Whether I go gluten-free or devour a giant fluffy loaf of my favourite Turkish bread, I know the one source I can truly rely on to scratch the spiritual (and carb!) itch comes from God!

The question is, will we come to Jesus as the crowd did and say “always give us this bread”? It’s time to make space in our hearts to receive Jesus by making sure we go to confession before Mass, and by entering prayerfully.

I challenge and encourage you - the next Mass you attend, instead of having a chat to the person beside you, spend 5 minutes beforehand asking God to prepare your heart to receive Him.

+ Dear Jesus, I invite you into my heart today. I pray you’ll sustain me with hope, peace and courage to fight my battles. Send your Holy Spirit to reveal to me the areas in my life where I can grow, and sustain me in my walk. In Your most holy name, Amen.