What Sign?

Gospel: John 6: 30-35

People ask Jesus what sign he can perform in order for them to believe in his - this after he just fed 5,000 from five loaves and two fish.  But what Jesus does do is to provide a sign of his presence that is even more remarkable, for he situates it in the most ordinary and most necessary part of human life - the meal table - and in bread, the most basic and common food element.  

It was at the meal table where we most often find Jesus.  He ate with all sorts of people - sinners of all types, and people who thought themselves to be saints.  None were excluded from his presence at table.  For the table is necessary to human life not just for the physical need of food, but also for the human companionship and interaction that we need for our hearts and souls as social beings.  The table feeds every element of our life.  To exclude someone from the table is to starve a human being in every element of their life.

And so this is the sign of Jesus' presence here on earth for all time - Jesus present to all of us, not just a few.  For it is there that the disciples came to recognize him after the resurrection, and the table is itself a foretaste of the great banquet table of God's kingdom in heaven.  Even in heaven, the presence of God will be at table, at a meal where all are gathered.