The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there.  They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.  Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.  So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.  When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”  Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

The difference between seeking the consolations of God and the God of consolations is found in the people’s search for Jesus.  He tells them “you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  A sign is something that points to a deeper reality.  The people did not follow the sign to the source.  This, despite what they said during the miracle: “this is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”  (v. 14)

Thus it is that we may profess Jesus on our lips while our hearts seek only more signs of his presence, or the consolations of peace which he provides.  But the real work of God is to have faith in him (v. 29) even if the bread he provides stops flowing.  It is he himself who is the bread; he himself who longs to be consumed by us.  And it is the Holy Spirit who awakens in us the desire to consume him and be consumed by him in the ultimate consummation: the marriage of the Bridegroom and his Bride.