Gospel
John 6:22-29
22 The next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea, saw that there was no other ship there but one, and that Jesus had not entered into the ship with his disciples, but that his disciples were gone away alone. 23 But other ships came in from Tiberias; nigh unto the place where they had eaten the bread, the Lord giving thanks. 24 When therefore the multitude saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they took shipping, and came to Capharnaum, seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him: Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them, and said: Amen, amen I say to you, you seek me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you. For him hath God, the Father, sealed. 28 They said therefore unto him: What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered, and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hath sent.
As I mentioned a few days ago, I always find the Gospel stories of Jesus feeding the masses miraculously to be very human. As humans, we are often motivated by our stomachs. Although it is simple, and even base, there is nothing wrong with that. Had God wished, He could have made us without need of food. He could have made us complete, in ourselves, with no needs or appetites for anything else in creation. But, how awful would that have been! Imagine, for a moment, having no need of the love of family, spouse or friends… finding no pleasure in food, music, art or nature… no desire or need for anything outside of ourselves.
For a moment, you might think this would be a relief. In some ways, it is almost the Buddhist ideal of non-attachment. But, consider for a moment the description of hell that has been given to us by several saints who have had visions of the afterlife. Hell is a place where the souls who reject the love of God and neighbor are entirely turned in on themselves. Satan said that he would make himself his own god. This is the philosophy of satanists, self worship. I doubt many of the souls in hell actually make the choice of self worship, but in their lives they reject the love and laws of God. Whether through arrogance or weakness they indulge their sinful desires and hold themselves as their authority. Many believe in God, as does Satan, but they reject Him. Hell is cold, dark and lonely, a place where souls who have rejected God and morality spend eternity with what they held highest, themselves.
Heaven, on the other hand, is a place of fullness and community. It is family and love. It is likened to a wedding feast. The souls in Heaven exist in communion, the Communion of Saints. The souls in heaven are there specifically due to the needs they cannot satisfy within themselves – the need to love God and neighbor and to be loved. When we pray the Our Father, we say, “give us this day our daily bread.” This bread may be food. All food is a blessing from God. This bread may be any of our natural and right needs that find their fulfillment in the blessings of God.
As I write this a loaf of bread, fresh from the oven, is cooling on a rack by the stove. The smell of this sourdough bread, made from a dough starter I have had for years is incredible! Consider the miracle of this bread. Sure, I made the bread but I did very little. God made wheat and decided how it would grow from grains. He made the grain nutritious. He made the yeast that rises the bread. He made the water and the salt. He gave us the knowledge to mill the flour and the means to bake the bread. Without God, I could do nothing. Gratitude for simple things is essential, because things are rarely as simple as we assume. Each moment is a miracle!
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.
Thanks for this. It includes lessons in mindfulness, gratitude and simplicity, all things we can use more of in our lives!