Be your silly self

Jesus, help me to always be myself! Amen.

"I am the bread that came down from heaven," Jesus said. The people answered, "You're a person, and you're from this town, not heaven!" But Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. People who believe in me will live forever with God in heaven."

"Don't be silly," a grownup scolds you, just when you're clowning around and enjoying yourself the most. You wonder why some adults want to spoil your fun whenever you're acting goofy and silly. You're just being yourself, right?

Kids aren't the only ones who have to deal with adults who roll their eyes at the things you say and do. Even Jesus met those kinds of people -- as we hear in this week's Gospel (John 6:41-51).

In the story, Jesus is trying to explain that He's really God and comes from heaven. He compares Himself to bread, because bread is something basic that everyone needs to live and be healthy, the same way everyone needs God.

But just like some grownups roll their eyes at your clowning around, the people think Jesus is just being goofy and get impatient with Him. They want Him to say He's a person from Earth, not God's Son from heaven!

Kids are supposed to be silly sometimes. In fact, one of the best parts of being a kid is having fun, goofing around and being yourself. In the Gospel story, Jesus is just being Himself, too. He IS God, the "bread of life" -- and His message is that people who live good lives will go to heaven.

Jesus taught us that when you're being yourself, it's important that other people don't spoil your good time. But if they try, you can keep right on being yourself, whether you're a kid acting silly or a grownup teaching people about God!