MARK TAKES A VACATION:
WEEK TWO
Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6: 24-35
Do you ever watch soap operas? My mom did. And although she would occasionally tune in to watch such soaps as “Days of Our Lives” and “The Guiding Light,” there was one that was her favorite that she would never miss – “As the World Turns.” As you know, soap operas air five days a week so, at least back then, if an actor was ill or off shooting a movie, and the storyline needed to go on without them, another actor would be hired to temporarily replace them. The announcer for “As the World Turns” was named Dan Region, and I remember his smooth calming voice informing the viewers that “Today the role of Lisa Miller, Hughes, Eldridge, Shea, Colman, McColl, Mitchell, Chedwyn, Grimaldi” (that’s how many times she was married) “usually portrayed by Eileen Fulton will be played by Betty von Furstenberg.”
I thought of “As the World Turns” this week as I was preparing my homily. And I imagined the silky voice of Dan Region emanating from our speakers this morning announcing, “The role of the evangelist, usually performed this year by Mark will today be played by John.” Yes, Mark has been given a five-week vacation by the liturgists of the Church, and in his place, the Apostle John has been brought in to share with us a key portion of his Gospel called the “Bread of Life Discourse.” It began last week with the miracle of the loaves and fish, and continues today with Jesus telling those that were fed and searched him out the next day, “You think multiplying loaves and fish to satisfy your hunger pains was great? You know what? I’m going to give a bread that if you eat it, you’ll never die.” Next week he’ll reveal that HE himself is this BREAD of LIFE, the bread that has come down from heaven that gives life to the world. The following week he’ll push the envelope even further and tell them that UNLESS they eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, they CANNOT have life within them. And then finally, the week after, we see the result of such talk – the crowd, who the day before wanted to carry him off and crown him king, will desert him; they just cannot accept what he’s saying. Can we?
Recent reports from the medical profession tell us that we’re a society that likes to over-indulge. We’ve gotten fat. An estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. But on the other hand, we’re also warned that there exists a “hidden hunger” in our country. That we’re consuming the wrong types of foods – foods that are calorie dense, but nutritionally poor. And as a result, some 85% of Americans lack essential vitamins.
The truth is, many are suffering from a spiritual malnutrition as well. We live in a world that has become obese with insatiable desires, and the things we feed on to try to satisfy those desires are harming us spiritually. I’m talking about a spiritual malnutrition that’s caused by people over-indulging on a diet of power, prestige and possessions, things that offer the quick fix to our hunger, but always fail to satisfy. I’m talking about those who exist on a regular junk food diet of drugs and alcohol, sexual promiscuity and false religions and ideologies - things that only deliver easy solutions to all of life’s complexities, but in the end, they fall short. And I’m talking about those who have a steady intake of the bread of hatred and envy and whose only drink is the drink of bitterness and cynicism, and they become what they eat. But what about us? Might we who come here faithfully every Sunday also be suffering from spiritual malnutrition? It could very well be.
In our Gospel today, Jesus invites the crowds to recognize the hungers beneath their hungers. He asks the crowds to probe the deeper soul hungers that only the “bread that has come down from heaven” can satisfy. And he asks us to do the same. What are your hidden hungers? A hunger for meaning and purpose? A longing for acceptance, intimacy, and love? A desire to be recognized and appreciated? A hunger for delight and joy? A need for healing, wholeness, and steady courage in the face of fear? That’s my list. What’s yours?
Of course, it’s one thing to name our hungers, but quite another to trust that Jesus will satisfy them. After all, we’re so good at finding substitutes for the soul food that Jesus offers - things like perpetual busyness, social media, books, movies, the 24-hour-news-cycle, exercise, chocolate, and other people. Do we really trust that Jesus is our bread . . . our essential sustenance? Very often, the answer is no. Very often, Jesus is only an abstraction. A creed. A set of Sunday rituals we consider pleasant but optional. We don’t come to him ravenous because we seek satisfaction elsewhere. We don’t recognize our daily, hourly, dependence on his generosity. We partake of the Bread of Life through both Word and Sacrament every Sunday, but we fail to chew on it and digest it. We keep our relationship with Jesus on a superficial level and fail to grow and mature in our faith, which absolutely, positively requires a total purging of ourselves of everything and anything that’s not him.
There’s only one cure for the condition of spiritual malnutrition. Jesus offers us the one thing that will satisfy all our cravings and keep us healthy – HIMSELF! He is the Wonder Bread, who not only helps to build strong bodies in twelve ways but is the spiritual food that feeds the heart, nourishes soul and gives life to the spirit. There’s no substitution. Through Him comes life . . . life now and life eternally . . . a full and abundant and rich life in which sin and suffering, despair and death are conquered.
So watch your diet! Be careful of the calories of excess. Stay away from the fatty lusts and appetites that the world offers. Avoid the spicy prejudices and hatreds that could give your spirit heartburn. Stay away from the junk food of materialism that will clog your spiritual arteries and damage the health of your heart and soul. Instead, try a diet high in the fiber of Jesus. Let Jesus into your heart and soul. Allow him to clean out the plaque of self-complacency and self-satisfaction. And begin an exercise program that includes prayer and ministering to the needy. I know this is a difficult diet. Many won’t stick to it. But the rewards are great for those who do: health of the mind and heart, fitness of the soul, strength to deal with all the difficulties which we face in life, and the greatest benefit of all . . . eternal life.
Jesus – the living bread that has come down from heaven. May we absorb it. May we share it. May we desire it above all things. May its nourishment permeate us through and through until we become what we have eaten, life-saving bread for the whole world.
