Here is the text of the reflection I prepared for this weekend's gatherings of God's people. In short, Jesus fed the crowds, and led them to understand that we too feed on his word as well as his special food. This special food helps us to be his disciples and to use our talents and gifts in order to bring others to know Him.
A number of years ago, I was invited to work with a group of Christian faith leaders to organize an outdoor faith gathering. One of the first planning meetings took place early in the morning – a breakfast meeting. We began by talking about the importance of such gatherings: people from various Christian faith traditions don’t always gather to pray together, so this was a significant moment indeed. At one point, after we had discussed the significance of this gathering, someone said that we should pray, asking God to provide everything that we needed for this endeavour to be successful, and so we did ... then someone else observed: We should make a list of the people we need to contact, any reservations of space that need to be done, advertising that has to be done, etc. In other words, we can’t always rely on God to provide for our needs if we’re not willing to do our part too.
We see evidence of this in today’s first reading. The Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt and led into the Promised Land, but even there, they are not happy. The problem was that they had not yet realized the need to ask God for what they wanted. Instead they just murmured among themselves and misdirected their anger toward Moses and Aaron: If only we had died ... in the land of Egypt ... but you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger (Ex 16:3).
The same was true of the crowds who followed Jesus. They knew that they wanted bread, but they did not truly understand the significance of the bread that Jesus gave. Instead, they kept looking for more signs (cf Jn 6:30).
Have we ever found ourselves in such situations: asking God for help, but unaware of the fact that we too need to contribute our talents in order to find solutions to the situations that challenge us, or somehow expecting that God will provide us with some kind of magical response to our prayer?
Like the Israelites in the desert, like the crowds who went to Capernaum looking for Jesus (Jn 6:24), we too need to do our part. First, whenever we encounter a challenge, it might help to look at it not in a negative light but rather to try seeing it as an opportunity. If we are able to train ourselves not to see life as a series of negative experiences but rather as possibilities for positive outcomes, we will also be able to set out in search of Jesus, and we will also be able to recognize the signs that he provides: the true bread from heaven that our Father provides for us (cf Jn 6:32), his constant presence, his support and his love that strengthens our resolve to be his disciples day after day.
It was because Saint Paul had encountered the Lord, and because his heart and soul had been nourished by the presence of the Lord that he was able to advise the early Christians living in Ephesus: put away your former way of life ... and be renewed in the spirit of your minds ... clothe yourselves with Christ (Eph 4:22-24). Let this be our prayer this week. Amen.
Food for body and soul
A number of years ago, I was invited to work with a group of Christian faith leaders to organize an outdoor faith gathering. One of the first planning meetings took place early in the morning – a breakfast meeting. We began by talking about the importance of such gatherings: people from various Christian faith traditions don’t always gather to pray together, so this was a significant moment indeed. At one point, after we had discussed the significance of this gathering, someone said that we should pray, asking God to provide everything that we needed for this endeavour to be successful, and so we did ... then someone else observed: We should make a list of the people we need to contact, any reservations of space that need to be done, advertising that has to be done, etc. In other words, we can’t always rely on God to provide for our needs if we’re not willing to do our part too.
We see evidence of this in today’s first reading. The Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt and led into the Promised Land, but even there, they are not happy. The problem was that they had not yet realized the need to ask God for what they wanted. Instead they just murmured among themselves and misdirected their anger toward Moses and Aaron: If only we had died ... in the land of Egypt ... but you have brought us out into the wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger (Ex 16:3).
The same was true of the crowds who followed Jesus. They knew that they wanted bread, but they did not truly understand the significance of the bread that Jesus gave. Instead, they kept looking for more signs (cf Jn 6:30).
Have we ever found ourselves in such situations: asking God for help, but unaware of the fact that we too need to contribute our talents in order to find solutions to the situations that challenge us, or somehow expecting that God will provide us with some kind of magical response to our prayer?
Like the Israelites in the desert, like the crowds who went to Capernaum looking for Jesus (Jn 6:24), we too need to do our part. First, whenever we encounter a challenge, it might help to look at it not in a negative light but rather to try seeing it as an opportunity. If we are able to train ourselves not to see life as a series of negative experiences but rather as possibilities for positive outcomes, we will also be able to set out in search of Jesus, and we will also be able to recognize the signs that he provides: the true bread from heaven that our Father provides for us (cf Jn 6:32), his constant presence, his support and his love that strengthens our resolve to be his disciples day after day.
It was because Saint Paul had encountered the Lord, and because his heart and soul had been nourished by the presence of the Lord that he was able to advise the early Christians living in Ephesus: put away your former way of life ... and be renewed in the spirit of your minds ... clothe yourselves with Christ (Eph 4:22-24). Let this be our prayer this week. Amen.
Pour nous nourir
Il y a quelques années, on m’a invité à travailler avec un groupe de responsables de la foi chrétienne afin d’organiser un rassemblement religieux en plein air. L'une des premières réunions de planification a eu lieu tôt le matin: dans le cadre d’un petit-déjeuner de travail. Nous avons commencé par parler de l’importance de tels rassemblements: les gens de diverses traditions chrétiennes ne se réunissent pas assez souvent pour prier ensemble, c’était donc un moment important. À un moment donné, après avoir discuté de la signification de ce rassemblement, quelqu'un a dit que nous devions prier pour le succès de cette entreprise. Quelqu’un d’autre a suggéré que nous devons demander à Dieu de fournir tout ce dont nous avions besoin pour que cette entreprise réussisse. En d'autres termes, nous ne pouvons pas toujours compter sur Dieu pour subvenir à nos besoins si nous ne sommes pas également prêts à collaborer.
Nous voyons la preuve en la première lecture aujourd'hui. Les israélites ont été libérés de l'esclavage en Égypte et ont été conduits à la Terre promise, mais même là, ils n’étaient pas heureux. Le problème c’était qu'ils n'avaient pas encore réalisé la nécessité de demander à Dieu ce qu'ils voulaient. Au lieu de cela, lorsqu’ils se sont fâchés, ils ont tout simplement murmuré entre eux et dirigé leur colère contre Moïse et Aaron: Pourquoi le Seigneur nous a-t-il fait sortir du pays d’Égypte alors que nous mangions à satiété ... est-ce pour nous faire mourir de faim dans le désert (Ex 16,3)?
Les foules qui ont suivi Jésus se sont également trouvées dans le besoin. Ils savaient qu'ils voulaient du pain, mais ils ne comprenaient pas vraiment la signification du pain que Jésus donnait. Au lieu de cela, ils ont continué à chercher d'autres signes (cf Jn 6,30).
Nous sommes-nous déjà trouvés dans de telles situations: demandant de l'aide à Dieu, mais ignorant que nous devons aussi utiliser nos talents pour trouver des solutions aux situations qui nous interpellent, plutôt que d’attendre à ce que Dieu nous fournisse une sorte de réponse magique à notre prière?
Comme les israélites dans le désert et comme les foules qui sont allées à Capharnaüm à la recherche de Jésus (Jn 6,24), nous devons aussi collaborer avec le Seigneur. Premièrement, chaque fois que nous sommes aux prises à un défi, cela peut nous aider à comprendre la vie non à un éclairage négatif, mais plutôt cela peut nous aider à comprendre une circonstance particulière. Si nous pouvons nous entraîner à ne pas voir la vie comme une série d’expériences négatives, mais plutôt comme des possibilités d’obtenir des résultats positifs, nous serons également en mesure de partir à la recherche de Jésus, et nous pourrons également reconnaître les signes fournis: le vrai pain du ciel que notre Père nous donne (cf Jn 6, 32), sa présence constante, son soutien et son amour qui renforcent notre détermination à être ses disciples jour après jour.
C'était à cause du fait que Saint Paul avait rencontré le Seigneur, et que son cœur et son âme avaient été nourris par Sa présence, qu’il était en mesure de conseiller les premiers chrétiens qui se trouvaient à Éphèse: revêtez-vous de l’homme nouveau, créé conformément à la pensée de Dieu (Ep 4, 22-24). Que cela soit notre prière cette semaine. Amen.
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