It is human nature that we are perpetually hungry and thirsty for something. Whatever it is we seek—success, admiration, control, love, God—it’s never enough. We want more and more, and our appetites are not satisfied. The desire is what it is, but where things get out of whack is when we try to fill ourselves with junk food rather than what can really give us life.
In our gospel reading* the crowd of five thousand who had just a day before been fed by Jesus with five barley loaves and two fish, are back for more. They are hungry for food again and another miracle. Jesus takes the opportunity to invite them to look deeper for what they want and need. He encourages them to recognize the presence of God in their midst and the intimate significance of that gift.
Jesus says to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” I imagine from the crowd a collective, “What?!” Not to give too much away, but it doesn’t get any easier for Jesus and the people’s understanding as this story continues over the next three Sundays.
We are creatures who need food for survival. Woefully there are people starving and dying of thirst. Can we really trust that God will provide? And in regards to our desire for spiritual insight, we receive small nuggets that take us only so far rather than being given a fullness of understanding. How can we ever be satisfied with just enough?
As I chew on Jesus’ words and as I take them into the silence for further reflection, what is offered is another way of seeing and being that goes beyond our typical way of thinking and believing about life. A way of life that calls for fearlessly opening the heart even if it baffles the mind. A way of life that attends to the body, but in relation to everybody together as One Body in Christ.
At the level of what it means to be truly human, our hunger is fed and our thirst quenched when we offer ourselves in love. We may need food and water to survive, but life is about more than survival. We beloved beings in God are filled with the stuff of miracles waiting to happen as we extend ourselves with generosity and compassion to others.
Jesus instructs us to work for the food that endures for eternal life. The kind of nourishment that is always shared, that multiplies from goodwill, that rises with justice, that requires a daily commitment of faith, and that transforms us into our better selves: the love of God for us and in us and wanting to do remarkable things through us for the life of all the world.
*John 6:24-35
-Trish Stefanik, Overlook Retreat at Dayspring
For reflection:
- Where do you get your nourishment – body, soul, mind, and heart?
- How are you called to be bread for the world?
