Last week, the priests of Incarnate Word began preaching on the Bread of Life discourse, focusing on the Eucharist as food. Today’s readings build upon that notion and introduce another theme: that of faith. It wouldn’t hurt to have a definition of faith to chew on so let’s go to one of the great Catholic minds, St. Thomas Aquinas, who says, “Faith is a habit of the mind where eternal life is begun in us making the intellect (mind) agree to what is not yet obvious.” The Letter to the Hebrews says, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Either way, faith is a mindful act, a conscious choice to believe in something not yet here or fully understood. It’s crucial we pray for faith often and help it to grow, otherwise the Eucharist and any other miracle God does will fail to have any real impact. If we lack faith, we begin to go blind to the many miracles in our midst, from the most profound here at Mass to the most ordinary like finding a great parking spot when you arrived at Incarnate Word!
So how do we know if our faith needs to grow? One of the easiest ways to tell is when a blessing begins to feel like a burden. For example, do I think of coming to Mass in terms of something I have to do or something I get to do? There’s a big difference! If I truly believe with all my heart, that God loves me more than I love myself, that he wants me to be completely happy forever in heaven, that he promises to give me food for this earthly journey, and he will provide for my every need… if I really believe all that, and hear Jesus say over and over again in the Gospel, “I am the Bread of Life”, “Eat my Body, Drink my Blood”, then I begin to realize the Eucharist and Mass are some of the most important pieces to this puzzle of earthly life. And perhaps if Mass isn’t doing anything for me, it’s not a problem with Mass or the Eucharist, maybe I need to grow in faith and the understanding of these divine mysteries!
Those of you who have raised children or taken care of little ones have seen when faith and understanding are lacking, bad things happen, for example when it comes to nap time. Think about your babies, especially when they were toddlers, and how they would kick, scream, wail, and resist the hallowed time for a snooze. They could only think of the here and now, what they could see and understand. If they could believe their parents were making them sleep for their own good, if they could understand that a nap was in their best interests, how differently they would act!
Now, I can’t be too hard on these little babies, I acted the same way. Sneaking out of bed during nap time, fighting and screaming every day when that time came around. I now regret my behavior and repent fully of wasting those opportunities for rest. I lecture my nieces and nephews about this every time I see them protesting their nap but they don’t seem to care.
Just as little children fail to see the good thing they have in taking a nap each day, so too, in our first reading, the Israelites fail to see the good things God is providing for them in the desert. Even though God has already solved so many of their problems, they are hungry and resist God’s pleas to have Faith in his plan. They tell Moses, "Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! In other words, we had it better as slaves because, at least our bellies were full of meat and bread! Already, God’s people are settling for something less than the freedom he offered, they are willing to be enslaved again simply so they don’t have to be hungry, they are setting their eyes on the lower, lesser goods. God, in his goodness and patience, gives them bread from heaven and even provides meat while they wander in the desert. This food literally comes down from heaven and God is setting the stage for an even greater miracle where he will feed all who believe in him with the true bread from heaven.
We have been given the perfect Manna from heaven, the Body and Blood of Jesus! The food God gave Israel in the desert was just an appetizer for the perfect meal he was preparing in the Eucharist. Do we really appreciate that gift? Do we believe, even if we can’t completely understand, that the Eucharist is the one food, the one drink we need to get through this life in a way that leads to the Promised Land of Heaven? Or do we complain about this gift and wish for something else? Don’t we sometimes wish that Mass could be a little more interesting? or a little shorter? Or at a more convenient time? Maybe we settle for lesser things as the Israelites did. Instead of finding our true happiness and fulfillment in Christ, we look for those things in worldly items, human relationships, pleasures, and titles. Perhaps we are willing to go back to a spiritual slavery so that we can be a little more comfortable or familiar with our surroundings.
Far too often, we settle for lesser things and we fail to appreciate the divine gift that is offered by God. Like the Israelites wishing for the food of slaves, we can fail to see the the gift in front of us. These 5 weeks remind us of the great treasure we have in the Eucharist. The Church wants us to know that we have been set free by the Body and Blood of Jesus. God will feed our souls with himself and he is the only thing that will ultimately satisfy us. The challenge for us this Sunday is simple. We have the greatest of gifts; the most magnificent miracle before us. Jesus, the true and eternal Bread from Heaven, is given at each and every Mass. Let us resolve to deepen our faith in this precious gift and never take it for granted. May we receive the Eucharist with grateful, faith-filled hearts, believing that there is no better gift God could give us. And if we have doubts, misunderstandings, or questions about the Eucharist, let’s learn more about what it is or ask someone to help us grow in understanding of this heavenly bread. The gift has already been given but we can only receive the blessings to the extent we have faith.
