First Comes Food

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus!

In last Sunday’s Gospel (John 6: 1-15), we heard the miracle of how Jesus fed over 5,000 people. The aspect of this miracle addresses the physical needs of people: hunger and thirst. Another significant aspect of this miracle lies in the small signs, namely, a young boy, two fish and five barley loaves. Through the thanksgiving prayer of Jesus and the breaking of the bread which is to be shared with others, it becomes bread for all.

And in the end it was more than they could eat. The people became excited and they wanted to make him king. Jesus knew what they wanted, so he withdrew and retreated to the mountain. Him alone. This experience of God’s wonderful action prepares the way for today’s Gospel (John6: 24-35).

Jesus Attracts

The experience of witnessing God’s miraculous actions attracts people to Jesus. Because of this, they seek him, inquire about him, and want to be in his presence. "Rabbi – when did you get here?" Let us try – for a moment, to put ourselves in the situation of the people in those days. In their shoes, in the sandals of those people.

Walk in Thier Sandles

"My name is Melchior. I am a fisherman and I live in Capernaum. I belong to Peter’s Team along with his friends. We work hard. Every day, in order to feed our families. In the past few days, past weeks, we haven’t caught many fish. The Roman taxes almost exhaust all of our wages. Sometimes I don’t know what I can bring home to my family, how I can provide for them. It is hard. I don’t know what I can give them to eat and drink. In the night, my wife and I try to think of how we can provide for our children the next day. We hear our children crying out in the night because they are hungry. It hurts us to see and hear them suffer. Listen - I was there with my family when Jesus fed over 5,000 people! I was there when Jesus of Nazareth simply gave everyone bread. I have no clue how he could do that. But all of us had enough to eat. More than enough.”

Seeking Jesus

Isn’t it easy to see why people are drawn to Jesus? His love, his compassion, kindness and sacrifice...I am sure all of us can understand why people would seek Jesus and follow him. He recognizes their hunger and thirst for the earthly. Through Jesus, God recognizes the immediate needs of the people and provided for them. Everthing we need can be found in the amazing world, which God has created. Nodody should have to do without.

Berthold Brecht put it quite well when he wrote in his famous play The Threepenny Opera:“First comes food, then morality”.

Food and other essentials are fundamental human basic needs, they are necessary for survival. Food alone should be a basic right and available for all people. But there is also another food and other essentials which fulfill human needs and his well-being. We cannot simply have one without the other and expect to live a fulfilled life. I am sure that we can all agree that there is another kind of hunger in our lives. There is a wide range between a healthy hunger for earthly things and an unhealthy, insatiable appetite, which can lead to greed, envy, gluttony, pride and so on - there are seven of them.

“I take what I want, regardless of the dignity and the rights of another.”

With this kind of attitude, a person places himself below the level of an animal. I say below because an animal is guided and controlled purely by its instincts and cannot be held responsible for its actions. It is not capable of reflecting on its own actions. Friends, I am convinced: People are social beings, equipped with a heart and a mind. In their innermost being, they feel a deep longing for love, security, and fulfillment. This divine space within our soul leads us to feel a responsibility toward ourselves, toward each other and to all of creation. We learned hopefully in our childhood: Every person has a right to be treated with respect and dignity. And it is precisely here that Jesus addresses us in today’s Gospel text. He addresses earthly hunger – we should not forget: First comes food, then morality. Jesus Christ also speaks of a heavenly longing that can give our lives deeper depth and a greater richness. He speaks of heavenly bread, “which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”.

Bread From Heaven

In the Celebration of the Eucharist we are offered the bread of divine life. It is the heavenly bread. In the Body of Christ, we receive a power that strengthens us for our life’s journey. This power assures us that God wants to nourish and uplift us. Paul describes this mission in our Second Reading, with a beautiful image: He writes: “Put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” Friends, go out into the world – as new people, embracing a new identity. As people who are aware of their earthly responsibilities and heavenly calling.

Let us not stop our pursuit of spiritual renewal in Jesus. It is through OUR THINKING AND ACTIONS that Jesus finds the poor, and the weak, and those who lack the earthly bread and the essentials for living.

We can do it.

Jesus Christ has shown us how: with earthly bread for the body and heavenly bread for the soul.

Whoever comes to HIM will never hunger, and whoever believes in HIM will never thirst.

Praise be to Jesus Christ.