Daily Catholic Lectio. Mon, 5 May ‘25. When Did You Come Here?

Daily Catholic Lectio

Mon, 5 May ‘25

Third Week of Easter – Monday

Acts 6:8–15; John 6:22–29

“When Did You Come Here?”

After the miracle of the loaves, Jesus begins a long discourse on the Bread of Life. Today’s Gospel passage is the prelude to that profound teaching.

In this reading, we come across two questions:

1. “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

This is the question the people ask Jesus. They had expected to find Him at the place where they had eaten the loaves, but instead, He had left for Capernaum. When they catch up to Him, they ask, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

Jesus does not directly answer this question. Instead, He invites them to reflect on their motivations. They had come searching for bread that satisfies the body, but He calls them to seek food that does not perish—food that grants eternal life.

2. “What must we do to be doing the works of God?”

This second question also comes from the people. It is a good question—it opens well.

Jesus gives a direct answer: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”

Let us focus today on the gap in the people’s search for Jesus—a missing moment that reveals something deeper.

What was that missing moment?

In the first day’s event: Jesus does not get into the boat; only the disciples do.

In the second day’s scene: many boats arrive, but neither Jesus nor His disciples are in them.

What lies in between? “Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.”

That is the gap in their search. Though they were earnestly seeking Jesus, they missed observing that He had gone up the mountain alone. Or perhaps, they were only looking for Him where it was convenient for them.

Had they noticed this quiet withdrawal to the mountain, perhaps their understanding of Jesus would have changed. They might have seen that His kingship was spiritual in nature.

Often, human reasoning wishes to confine God—“God must be here.” “God must look like this.”

But if we believe in the God who surpasses all our boundaries, He will meet us even within our own limits. This is the “weakness” of God: His willingness to come to us, even in our narrowness.

Spiritual takeaway: Ask yourself today: Where am I? How did I come to be here? Where am I going?

These are questions of direction and purpose. They are worth asking, and worth living.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy