Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
At that point the crowds were more interested in what the giver could give than in the giver himself. But his gifts, like the manna in the desert in the time of Moses, could not be hoarded. Any manna which the Israelites attempted to save overnight (except when preparing for the Sabbath) would be found spoiled in the morning.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
They were not to become so preoccupied with earthly things, even the gifts given by Jesus himself, that they became attached to them and forgot their dependence on the giver. There was no point in building ever larger silos to store ever increasing quantities of grain when the Lord could at any time demand one's life. The priority was therefore always meant to be relationship with the one on whom the Father, God, has set his seal. Jesus thus represented himself as leading former captives from slavery to sin, through the desert pilgrimage of this age, unto eternal life. For such a journey to be successful what was needed was not so much anything the pilgrims could accomplish but rather trust in God who would guide and provide for them on the way.
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
The crowd seemed to think that if they accomplished the works of God they could discover the food that endures for eternal life. But what was needed was something more than perfect adherence to the Torah. It wasn't as though they could refer back to the Mosaic law and find a map for this new exodus journey. Instead of looking back to what Moses had said Jesus directed their attention to himself. He was a prophet like Moses, but greater than Moses. Moses was not really the one who gave the gift on manna in the desert, much less could he give food enduring for eternal life. Even back in the time of the exodus from Egypt it was the Father who gave the gift. So too in this new pilgrimage. But this time the gift was infinitely greater, for Jesus himself was the gift.
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
The crowds minds were thus meant to be elevated from thinking about merely natural food which would eventually and inevitably fail to a reminder of the necessity of relationship with the giver, the one who could guide them through their own earthly journey. Since they understood to some degree that Jesus was claiming to be one greater than Moses they demanded of him corresponding proof for his claims. But the final confirmation of these claims and the true proof of who he was would ultimately by found in his giving of himself for them and for all. The Father was the one who provided bread and quail for those leaving Egypt for the promised land. But now he was giving them his Son. Those who received him would find in him true food that endures for eternal life, the one who himself "comes down from heaven and gives life to the world".
I declare and testify in the Lord
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds;
Gentiles, according to Paul, lived in the futility of their minds. They forgot that they lived in a world that was temporary and did not understand that the journey through life was a pilgrimage. Thus they tried to satisfy themselves with all manner of things that could not truly satisfy. That was the was like the old self of the former way of life corrupted through deceitful desires that Paul instructed his readers to put away. In its place he desired that they be renewed in the spirit of their minds, understanding what truly mattered and remembering that life was a pilgrimage. They could then act in accord with that way of thinking "and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth".
The world in which we live may look like a desert. We may be tempted to despair in light of the arduous nature of the journey or the apparent monotony of what is provided as provisioning along the way. But this monotony is only apparent. To the eyes of faith the bread of angels that we are given contains all sweetness within it.
Instead of this, you nourished your people with food of angels
and furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for,
endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste (see Wisdom 16:20)
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