19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 19:4-8/ Ephesians 4:30-5, 2/ John 6:41-51
One of the most challenging places to work is the service industry. Essentially, the service industry caters to the needs of customers and consumers. Actually, it is more than just the needs. The service industry must try to satisfy the demands of the customers and consumers. In order to survive the competitive service industry, one has to be able to fulfill whatever that is “on-demand”.
So for example, for a restaurant to survive, the food must be good, and the service fast and courteous. For a cellphone or internet service provider the rates must be value-for-money, and the customer hotline must be fast and responsive, and whatever problems resolved well. For a hotel, the guests must feel like they are at home.
By and large, the service industry thrives on the fact that people like to be served, and served quickly and courteously.
Yet people can be hard to please. You give them a doughnut and some will ask why there is a hole in the center. In other words, if you want to be in the service industry, you have to be prepared for all sorts of complaints.
The word “complain” appeared twice in today’s gospel passage. The people were complaining about Jesus. And then He had to tell them to stop complaining. The people were complaining that Jesus was talking nonsense – that He is the bread that came down from heaven, but they knew where He came from. Or at least they thought they knew. Yes, Jesus had a difficult time trying to teach the people that
He is the bread of life because their minds were already filled with complaints.
When the mind is filled with complaints, the heart is already closed. And when the mind is filled with complaints, then life can be a pain.
Even in the 1st reading, we hear of the prophet Elijah, who seemed to be complaining and even wishing he were dead. His words of complaint were these:
Lord, I have had enough. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors. Yet his complaint was not about the small stuff. His complaint was about a real mortal danger. He was being pursued by his enemies, and they were hunting him down and bent on taking his life. So even as a prophet, he felt he could not take it anymore, and hence those words – Lord, I have had enough. Take my life!
Well, those are indeed prophetic words coming from a prophet in distress. Because we too have our own complaints about life. Especially when all the work is too much, and no one would help us, whether it is at home or at work. Or when our

problems keep mounting and no one understands us. Or when one is old and sickly, and no one bothers or cares, and loneliness has drained the meaning out of life. In such situations, we will be tempted to say : Lord, I have had enough. -Take my life. But God being God, He won’t take our life just like that. Rather He will give us the bread of life and the bread for life. For the prophet Elijah, God sent an angel to bring him bread and water to help him go on.
The bread has a deeper meaning than just food to fill the stomach and to satisfy the hunger. It was a sign for the prophet Elijah that God will be with him on the journey ahead. So for his complaint, God did not give a solution; rather God became his companion.
The word “companion” is interesting. It is made up of two Latin words – “cum” which means “with”, and “panis” which means “bread”. So “companion” means sharing and eating bread with someone. It may be the bread of joy and happiness.
But more often than not, it is the bread of suffering and loneliness, bread of pain and difficulties. In these kind of moments, we will complain, and like the prophet
Elijah, we will say : Lord, I have had enough. – take my life. Yet in all our complaints, whether it is about life or about God, let us realize that we are not asking for answers. For the questions about life, pain, suffering and even about
God, the answers won’t be of much help, even if we can get those answers.
Yet for all our questions and complaints, God comes to be with us and to be our companion on the way. And that is actually what we really need – a companion to be with us in our difficult and painful moments of life.
With that, we will understand what Jesus meant when He said: the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world. In other words, Jesus will be our companion and send others to be our companions in difficult and turbulent times.
Indeed, the best service we can render to someone is to be a companion, to be with that person even if it’s just being there quietly, especially when that person is in difficulty.
Because no one would ever complain against a companion, especially a companion who shares in the bread of pain and suffering.
Jesus is our best companion – He is the bread of life . Let us trust in Him.
He is the bread of life……….. Let us trust in Him….