HE’S THE WHOLE ENCHILADA
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
My dear encountered couples:
Jesus makes himself our life. People need to realize that. Jesus was not just a teacher, a moralist, a miracle worker, or merely a nice man. He is the beginning and the end all of our life, of our existence. Without him we would not be, without him we cannot find contentment, neither here nor hereafter.
Life without Christ, life without the God Jesus came to tell us about, is a life of illusion, fantasy, and make-believe. People who take drugs are basically admitting that nothing else in this world of ours satisfies them. They seek another world. Isn’t that what we all do many times in one way or another? We seek to be free of what we are used to, of what is around us, we want to sail off, fly off to a land of dreams. And then when we get there, we find we aren’t satisfied with that either.
Life without Christ, life without God is not really living. Everybody will eventually discover that, hopefully not after it’s too late. The people had eaten the bread and fish Jesus had given them, supplied, as it were, presto, out of the air. They still were not sure of him. They asked for another sign: “What sign are you going to perform for us to see so that we can put faith in you? Moses gave our ancestors in the desert bread from heaven. What are you going to give?” “Myself!” Jesus said. “I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry; no one who believes in me shall thirst again.” Jesus is our all. Let’s never be fooled or sidetracked by anything nor anyone else.
Today let us pray that we can always remember that Jesus is our bread of life. Let us pray for compassion for ourselves when our fears about losing job security, food availability and social connections get in the way of being present to serve the kingdom of God. We ask to be reminded of our gifts of curiosity and to use that gift to be comfortable with the mystery of the future. We pray that we all remember that whoever comes to Jesus will never hunger and whoever believes in Jesus will never thirst.
