DAILY GRACE
April 28, 2020, Tuesday in the Third Week of Easter
Scripture: John 6:30-35
So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
“. . . whoever comes to me will never be hungry . . .”
With all due respect, I beg to differ.
I completely identify with Saint Augustine, who exclaimed that you had touched him and now he burned for your peace; he had breathed in your fragrance, and now he forever longed for more. It is true that Jesus is the Bread of Life who satisfies our deep hunger for limitless love and everlasting life. I’ve tasted this. So why does it seem that my hunger never ends?
But I listen to this reading from John, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” My endless hunger and thirst is met by Jesus’ endless gift of life — true life. God’s fidelity to his covenant of creation and redemption gives all of us our daily sustenance. The strength of the call lies in the one who calls —- not the one who answers. My seemingly bottomless hunger for reassurance, signs, and consolation is challenged —- but always met —- by God’s infinite grace. God calls me beyond my small self into his infinite generous expanse. My heart is restless until it rests and is nourished in God.
Prayer
God, why do you do this to us? Why do you put into our hearts a yearning for your life? Our hearts ache and ache, and we reach after you, but it is impossible. Even our best efforts to live as you wish us to, and to love as your heart loves, fall short of the mark. Teach me to live with this paradox: to always hunger after you, the only one who can completely satisfy my deepest longings. You are the Bread of Life. Give us this bread always. Amen.
Contemplation
Give us this day our daily bread.