20210801 AIMLESS LIFE
01 August, 2021, Sunday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Exodus 16:2-4,12-15 © |
The Lord sends manna from heaven
The whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!’
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not.
‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.”’
And so it came about: quails flew up in the evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 77(78):3-4,23-25,54 © |
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
The things we have heard and understood,
the things our fathers have told us,
these we will not hide from their children
but will tell them to the next generation:
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
the glories of the Lord and his might
and the marvellous deeds he has done,
Yet he commanded the clouds above
and opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down manna for their food,
and gave them bread from heaven.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Mere men ate the bread of angels.
He sent them abundance of food;
So he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain which his right hand had won.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Second reading |
Ephesians 4:17,20-24 © |
Put aside your old self and put on the new
I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live. Now that is hardly the way you have learnt from Christ, unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus. You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:24-35 © |
It is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven; I am the bread of life
When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’ So they said, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.’
‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.’
AIMLESS LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 16:2-4.12-15; Ps 78:3-4,23-25,54; John 6:24-35 ]
Is your life aimless? Do you feel life is worth living? Or would you prefer to die not because there is a better life in the next world but simply because this life with all its struggles, challenges, sufferings or even pleasures is meaningless? The scripture readings today invite us to reflect deeper on how we are living our life. Most of us just drift through life, existing but not living fully. When we do that, we are no better than animals, eating, sleeping, enjoying and working. We do not have a purpose, a goal, an orientation. Even if we do have, does it really bring us true happiness or just an illusory and transitory contentment? St Paul urged the Christians in Ephesus, “I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live.”
What would you consider to be an aimless life? An aimless life is one that thrives on pleasure and physical fulfilment only. Many of us are contented with this level of living. All we seek in life is to provide pleasure to the body. Our primary concern is food, comfort and excitement. We are sensual, materialistic and consumeristic. That was the way the Israelites behaved in the first reading. They were in the desert. The only thing they thought of was food and drink. When deprived of the comfort food they had in Egypt, “the whole community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat bread to our hearts content!'”
Was that a reasonable complaint? If we just take the words as spoken, their unhappiness seems to be valid. But perhaps, it was an over-exaggeration. They forgot the misery they suffered under the slavery of the Egyptians and how they cried out to God for deliverance. Did they have so much good food then? Furthermore, when they left Egypt, they did not leave empty handed. In fact, they took along with them their possessions including their flock and cattle. So they were not without meat or milk or food completely. However, we all tend to exaggerate our pain when we face inconvenience in life or when we face new struggles in our work. Then we start regretting that we left our home or the job we had. Now that we are no longer where we were, we begin to think positively of that place. At any rate, very few are contented with what they have, even the richest man on earth. We want more and more. We are never contented, for the moment we have it, we get bored, and to keep us going, we find new objectives and new hobbies to entertain ourselves.
Nevertheless, it is not surprising how we respond to physical and material needs. Even the crowd that followed Jesus in the gospel sought for food and pleasure as well. They were not interested in Jesus except what He could do for them in terms of physical and material security. But they were not truthful to themselves and their real intention of seeking Jesus. Jesus saw through them and said, “I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.” Jesus was candid and direct with them. He did not entertain their superficial question. Rather, He went straight to the heart of the matter. The people were looking just for physical security and material satisfaction. They had seen what Jesus could do, not just multiplying food for the people but also the other miracles that He had performed, restoring health and life to the sick and the dead. They followed Jesus with the intention of making Him king, to be their liberator from the Romans. That was why Jesus withdrew earlier on when He “realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (Jn 6:15) They just wanted to make use of Jesus for their temporal needs in life. They did not look further than just material satisfaction and physical liberation from the Romans.
This is where Jesus is inviting us to seek something more than mere material and physical needs. Whilst they are essential for us to live, they cannot give us life, for as St Paul would say, “the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17) Jesus said to the people, “Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” One of the reasons why many successful and rich people find life empty and meaningless in spite of their wealth and fame, is simply because once our body is satisfied, our spirit seeks something more. This itself is a clear proof that we are not just constituted of matter, but we have a soul, since nothing on this earth that is material can satisfy us and even if it does, it is only temporary. In fact, when we are rich and well to do, when our comforts are met, we find ourselves living in a vacuum. The soul is thirsting for something which the body cannot satisfy.
So what is it that causes us to feel empty, especially when we are successful, have a reasonably comfortable life, a good career, good health and have sufficient money to live on? Did the people stop complaining after God gave them meat and bread to their hearts content? The truth is that Israel’s complaints against God never ended. They were always greedy and the word “enough” did not exist in their vocabulary, like ours as well. They failed the test that God set for them, which was to trust Him and His divine providence. So what is causing us to feel empty is to think that if we have plenty of money, our life would be fulfilled and we will have no more suffering or worries or fears in life. If we go by all the TV serials, the rich often live very complicated lives simply because when we are wealthy, we are not too sure who our real friends are.
Happiness and fulfilment can come only when we have meaning and purpose. This can only be found in God and then expressed in cultivating wholesome relationships and doing works of charity. If our meaning and purpose is found in this life, then it cannot sustain us for long. If we think that getting an academic degree can fulfil us, then the moment we attain it, life has no longer any meaning. Then we will always be creating meaning for ourselves by setting one goal after another. But no matter what achievements we arrive at, when we actually arrive, it becomes an anti-climax. This is why meaning and purpose can only be found in God, for we can never fully fathom God since God is in us and above all. As the Lord told the Samaritan Woman who was also seeking the fulness of life, that she must search for the living water instead. (Jn 4:10-15) Only God can quench the thirst in us.
Similarly, Jesus told the crowd that they can find contentment only in Him because He is the Bread of life. “He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” It is our relationship with Him through the Eucharist, the sacrament of His body and blood and the Word of God, that we can deepen our relationship with Him. Only Jesus can give us the peace we are seeking in life. The consequence of our union with the Lord is to belong to His body, the Church, which means also that we are in fellowship with His people, living together as one, caring and supporting each other in faith and love. And indeed, it is when we are in good relationship with God and with our fellowmen, that we find meaning.
To receive this Bread of Life, we only need to believe in Him. This is the work that is required of us, not our good works or any other works. When they asked the Lord, “What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.'” In other words, faith in Jesus is to allow His Spirit to work in and through us. We do good only because His Spirit inspires us and empowers us to do so. Faith in Jesus is what gives us fulfilment, life, love and joy. Faith in Jesus means that we will live a life of love and self-giving to our brothers and sisters. This is what St Paul said, “You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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