Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
2 The entire company[a] of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died[b] by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by[c] the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,[d] for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill[e] this whole assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain[f] bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out[g] and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.[h] Will they walk in my law[i] or not?
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community[a] of the Israelites, ‘Come[b] before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
10 As Aaron spoke[c] to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord[d] appeared[e] in the cloud, 11 and the Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening[f] you will eat meat,[g] and in the morning you will be satisfied[h] with bread, so that you may know[i] that I am the Lord your God.’”[j]
13 In the evening the quail[k] came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp. 14 When[l] the layer of dew had evaporated,[m] there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance,[n] thin like frost on the earth. 15 When[o] the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,[p] “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.[q] Moses said to them, “It is the bread[r] that the Lord has given you for food.[s]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[a]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[b]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[c]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[d]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[e]
he gave them what they desired.
Live in Unity
4 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord,[a] urge you to live[b] worthily of the calling with which you have been called,[c] 2 with all humility and gentleness,[d] with patience, putting up with[e] one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured[f] captives; he gave gifts to men.”[g] 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended[h] to the lower regions,[i] namely, the earth?[j] 10 He, the very one[k] who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 And he himself[l] gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,[m] 12 to equip[n] the saints for the work of ministry, that is,[o] to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to[p] the measure of Christ’s full stature.[q] 14 So[r] we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.[s] 15 But practicing the truth in love,[t] we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together[u] through every supporting ligament.[v] As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.
24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats[a] and came to Capernaum[b] looking for Jesus.
Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake,[c] they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”[d] 26 Jesus replied,[e] “I tell you the solemn truth,[f] you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted.[g] 27 Do not work for the food that disappears,[h] but for the food that remains to eternal life—the food[i] which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”[j]
28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds[k] God requires?”[l] 29 Jesus replied,[m] “This is the deed[n] God requires[o]—to believe in the one whom he[p] sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors[q] ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[r]
32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[s] it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who[t] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir,[u] give us this bread all the time!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.[v]
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