20240804 SEEKING WHAT ULTIMATELY SATISFIES AND LASTS
04 August 2024, Sunday, 18th Week in 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,
we will tell to the next generation:
the glories of the Lord and his might.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
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.’
SEEKING WHAT ULTIMATELY SATISFIES AND LASTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Exodus 16:2-4,12-15; Ps 78:3-4,23-25,54; Ephesians 4:17,20-24; John 6:24-35]
We are never satisfied for long. When we live in a three-room flat, we say it is too small. Moving to a five-room condominium, we are happy for a while, but soon, we will again say that it is too small. This is true for everything in life. Whether it is food, clothing, gadgets and phones, we are never contented for long. Indeed, this was the situation of the Israelites in the first reading. When they complained that they had no water, the Lord gave them. When they complained they had no bread, the Lord sent manna from heaven. Very soon, they lamented that they had no meat, and the Lord sent quails to them. But of course, nothing could satisfy the needs of man. As the saying goes, “God cannot satisfy our greed, only our needs.”
Why is it that we never seem to be satisfied with anything in life? This is because we are not simply animals! When animals are full, they are very happy and contented. They don’t ask for more. Human beings are different. We have a soul. This soul is intangible and is spirit. Nothing can satisfy the soul except spiritual things. For the unspiritual, they seek only the things of the world. But they will always be restless. St Augustine too was living a life of pleasure and fulfilling his sensual needs. But he was always restless and incomplete, until one day he came to the full realization. He wrote in his Confession, “My soul is restless until it rests in Him.” Indeed, it is easier to fulfil the needs of the materially poor than the rich poor who cannot be satisfied with material and physical fulfilment. The spiritual hunger of the rich man is like an abyss that cannot be filled.
How, then, can we fill the hunger of the soul? Firstly, we must understand what we mean when we speak of the soul of the person. The soul consists of the mind and the heart, the intellect and the will. The mind seeks for truth and meaning. The heart seeks for love and affection. A human person, therefore, is different from other animals because whilst the former simply needs to satisfy the body, the human person needs to find truth, meaning and love. Life is more than eating and drinking or wearing nice clothes. The meaning of life is found in truth and love. The mind searches for knowledge and understanding. The heart searches for true love and relationship. So, unless, we can fulfil the spiritual needs of man, he will always be restless.
But the truth remains that no one is at rest till he or she finds the fullness of truth and love. No one is contented with half-truths and superficial love. This is the crux of today’s lesson. Where can we find the fullness of truth and love? Where can we find the ultimate meaning and purpose of life? Can we find it on the internet? Can we find it in our fellowmen? We all know that the more we search for the truth, the more confused we are! This is why the world is so overwhelmed by so many ideas and information; we are paralyzed when it comes to deciding what is right or wrong.
Unable to find the truth, we fall into relativism. The philosophy of relativism says that no truth can be found. Everything is relative and subjective. So we are all doomed to live in ignorance, in half-truths and in lies. If that were the case, what hope is there for us all to live our lives meaningfully, since no truth can be found! We are just guessing and moving in circles. The worst is that after giving so much of our time and efforts, we realize that all is vanity! This is what St Paul wrote, “You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires.” All are illusions! How do we feel when after all the struggles we come to realize that our efforts are all in vain? We will be so devastated.
What is true with respect to the search for knowledge and truth is equally so for love. All of us are seeking for truth and everlasting love. No one can be contented with temporary love or superficial love. But that is what the world is promoting. In promoting divorce, we are promoting temporary love. In promoting same-sex union, we are promoting illusory love because men and women are made for each other. In promoting abortion and euthanasia, we are not promoting life but a culture of death. If love is so unreal, cannot last and is short-lived, or even deceitful, then is it worth investing so much of our time and energy on love? In other words, does true love exist, and if so, how is it possible?
The Christian answer to these two questions of truth and love is that Christ is the answer! We do not need to search anymore. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life! He told the people, “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.” What, then, is this food that endures to eternal life? “Jesus gave them this answer, ‘this is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.”
Faith in Jesus is the key to finding the fullness of truth and love. In finding Jesus, we will find life because we will share in the life of God, which is the eternal life that Jesus is giving to us. Jesus reiterated, “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.”
How is Jesus the answer to truth and love? As the bread of life, He is the Word of God. Jesus has come to enlighten us in the love of His Father and His plan for us, which is to share in His divine life. He reveals to us the Father’s mercy and love for us in His teachings. As the Word of God in person, He shows us our destiny and our calling in life. Only the One who has come down from heaven can show us the way to heaven. Only the One who comes from the bosom of the Father can reveal to us the heart and mind of the Father. In the Word of God, we come to understand the truth about ourselves, about God, and about life. To receive the bread of life, especially during the Eucharistic celebration, is to allow the Lord to enlighten us in the truth and feed our intellect which seeks for eternal truth. Hence, we must pay attention to the Word of God, read the scriptures often, daily, and especially during the Eucharistic celebration.
As the incarnation of God, Jesus shows us the true meaning of love. By His life of forgiveness, humility in service, compassion and kindness, through His works of healing and acceptance of sinners by eating and drinking with them, He shows us the heart of God and His love for us. Most of all, by His death on the cross, He shows us what love and forgiveness entails. In Jesus we see the mercy of God in person. By His love for His Father, His fidelity to His will even unto death, Jesus taught us what perfect and everlasting love entails. Jesus, then, is truly the love of God incarnated.
When we put truth and love together, this is where the meaning of life is found. Only then will our hearts and minds be satisfied. We find life when we know the ultimate truth of life is to be with God, and that true and everlasting love exists. By His resurrection from the dead, Jesus establishes beyond doubt that He is the One sent by the Father to lead us to Him so that we can find fullness of life and love. This has already begun when He sent us the Holy Spirit, which is the love of God, to dwell within us.
In the light of what has been said, St Paul urges us, “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.” Having found this truth, there is no excuse for us to continue to go back to a sinful life. We must now show our gratitude by living the life of grace given to us through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we must show ourselves as living an enlightened life based on the truth and a life of humble service in giving ourselves to God and the service of our fellowmen. St Paul reminds us, “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.”
After which, we must share Christ with the world so that others can come to know Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life. The psalmist says, “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 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.” Like Christ, we do this through words and actions, through the enlightening of minds and loving service through good works. Only through evangelization and giving testimony to His marvellous love can we continue to grow in faith and keep ourselves alive in His love.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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