18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B
SIMPLE FOOD IS ALL WE NEED
JN 6: 24-35
MESSAGE
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” These are truly powerful words from the Lord Jesus Christ. There is proven testimony in the lives of the saints who took these words seriously. It is said that St. Catherine of Siena, St. Angela of Foligno, and St. Joseph of Cupertino among others, at times took only Holy Communion and nothing else and survived for long periods of time.
How can we even imagine this in our time when people are crazy watching “mukbang” on Tiktok, following food vloggers on youtube, and patronizing Food Panda, Uber Eats or Grab Food delivery. We eat and drink to our heart’s content and we also waste a lot of food today. So many are the health problems that come from eating too much or eating wrong.
Jesus points to a very simple food – bread. He teaches us that eating is for sustenance, not an obligation, not for recreation. If we want to live a healthy spiritual life, he offers us his very self, the Bread of Life to be our only spiritual source of life; not superstitions, not rigid practices, not tremendous penances. We only need to be faithful to this simple Bread from God in the Eucharist. At the same time, having received the Eucharistic Bread, he inspires us to live simply and healthy, and generously, not wantonly or selfishly. Jesus the Bread is to be shared with our brothers and sisters who are hungry for his love.
REFLECT
Do you believe, like St. Teresa of Avila, that God alone is enough for you? Then receive him with joy and excitement every Sunday at Mass. In uniting yourself to him, ask the Lord to give you a simple but generous lifestyle, one that is good for the soul and the body, and one that is good for the people around you, too.
