The food we really need

Here are a few thoughts inspired by the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: a call for us to recognize Jesus' invitation to enter into relationship with the Father and with Him.

Food for the soul

These are the days of summer: days for visiting with family and friends, days for leisure activities like sports, reading and strolls along the waterfront.  This weekend, North Bay’s waterfront is home to the annual Summer in the Park celebration.  The midway is here, there are a variety of rides and attractions and of course there are food vendors.   At the heart of all human relationships, there is a special place reserved for sharing a meal together, whether with colleagues, friends or loved ones.

Just as the presence of food creates an atmosphere of celebration, the absence of food creates a situation of great stress.  How many of our brothers and sisters, exiled from their homelands in various parts of the world, are crying out even today in words not unlike the cries of the Israelites spoken of in today’s first reading: you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill us with hunger (Ex 16:3)? 

God has always heard the cry of his people, especially when they are in trouble, and he is always quick to answer us, not always in ways that we might expect, but in ways that will truly respond to our needs.  When they complained about their hunger, the Israelites were remembering a time when they had food in abundance, but God always responds by considering the present situation and looking forward: at twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread (Ex 6:12).  Why did he do this?  Because he has always wanted to enter into relationship with us, and good food paves the way to the human heart.

The gospel passage we heard today takes place in John’s account immediately after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  Having eaten their fill, the people set out in search of Jesus.  At some level, all human beings set out on such a journey: in search of that which we believe will satisfy our hunger, but Jesus is quick to caution them not to be content with food that perishes (Jn 6:27); rather, we should seek the food that endures for eternal life.

On more than one occasion, during his encounters with youth, Pope Saint John Paul II used to caution them not to seek happiness by striving to gain the approval of their peers, or in the empty promises of realities that could never be fulfilled.

Jesus Christ alone is able to respond to every human need.  He who is the bread of life (Jn 6:35) invites each of his beloved disciples to enter into a personal relationship with him.  This relationship promises to fulfill our search for every need, to satiate our deepest hunger, to renew us in the spirit of our minds and to clothe us with the New Man, created in the true likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:23-24).

The invitation has been issued.  It’s up to us to respond.