Reflection - More

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050619.cfm
Acts 6:8-15
John 6:22-29

The Gospel reading is from the sixth chapter of John. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus feeds five thousand with just a few loaves and fish. Following this, he sends the Apostles off in a boat to Caparnaum while he himself goes off to pray. The next morning, both Jesus and the Apostles are in Caparnaum, which is where we find them in today’s reading. When the crowd, which had been searching, finds Jesus, we hear the critical exchange:

"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

John’s text demands our reflection.

• What signs is Jesus talking about?
• Why does he seem to be critical of those who pursued him?
• What’s wrong with the crowd’s motivation for seeking Jesus?
• What was the purpose of Jesus feeding the multitude except to satisfy their hunger?

In John’s gospel there are no miracles. All of the extraordinary phenomena which John records are presented to the reader as signs — specifically, signs of the coming/presence of the Kingdom. The feeding of the crowd was an exceptionally potent sign for the Jews of the time because, throughout the Old Testament, the reign of God and the establishment of the Kingdom were often envisioned as a great banquet. (See Is 25:6-10) This is the sign they should have seen. But those who were fed by Jesus missed the point. Their focus did not rise to a vision of the promised Kingdom, but perseverated on the fact that their bellies were full. This man can feed us, was the thought that shackled their minds.

This brings me to the question upon which I found myself reflecting: Why did you seek me? It is the unspoken question implied when Jesus reminds the searchers that they search “because [they] ate the loaves and were filled.” Obviously, there is nothing wrong with seeking, finding or receiving food when one is hungry. But what does it mean when such a thing happens? The potential answers are numerous.

• I am fortunate.
• My neighbor is a good man
• I’m glad I prepared for such an occasion.
• My wife’s a good cook.
• Sure glad I looked in the right place.
• Etc., Etc., Etc.

But Jesus’ words are suggestive of his teaching in the gospel of Matthew. “Do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:31, 6:26) The food we receive to alleviate our hunger is always a gift from God. And coming, as it does, from God always carries with it the promise of more. But what is the ‘more’ that is promised?

In Matthew and Luke, feeding the crowd was a practical matter. The people had followed Jesus all day and it was dinner time. In Mark, feeding the multitude flowed from Jesus’ compassion. “He saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” ( Mark 6:34) In John’s Gospel Jesus fed the crowd, not because of his compassion, but because he wished to offer them a sign they could understand, a sign that the Kingdom had arrived. But they missed the sign. Their focus remained on their satisfied hunger. They had been anxious, saying: ‘What shall we eat?' Jesus fulfilled that need. But Jesus candidly tells them to seek something more. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

When my thoughts turn to the life I am living, I seldom find concern about death to be the subject of my consideration even though we see eternal life for all men as the premier consequence of Jesus’ own life, passion, death and resurrection. Even eternal life is lacking without something more. If there is a common theme to my reflection, it is contained in that single word ‘more.’ More seeks something greater, something beyond what one already has. More bread. More stuff. More security. More respect/recognition. More control, power or pleasure. More to fill my emptiness. More substance/meaning/purpose to my life.

The ‘more’ is experienced as an open-ended longing; but not every object we grasp will prove satisfying. Many will be pleasant for a time but none will quench that internal knowing that there is, there has to be ‘more’. No matter what we select as the potential solution to our desire, even a cursory examination will attest to the fact that the ‘more’ we seek is a ‘more’ that will bring a level of fulfillment to our lives that we persistently prove unable to achieve on our own.

Those folk who followed Jesus to Capernaum, did so because of their desire for more; but as satisfying as the bread had been, it could not last, and Jesus urged them to seek the bread which fulfills more than their physical hunger. “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48) He says. Seek me. You were made for more and I have come to give you more. “I came that they [you] may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) That is the more for which our heart yearns. That is the ‘more’ for which Jesus lived and died.

In the movie Oliver, loosely based on the Charles Dickens’ novel, the young, orphaned Oliver, filled with audacious temerity, approaches the keeper of the orphanage, empty plate in hand. We cringe as he asks: “Please, sir, can I have some more?” The response is disbelief, exasperation and anger at this insolent child who clearly does not appreciate what he has been given. Is this scene hidden in the shadows of our minds as we approach our Heavenly Father?

We are made for, even called to more! He made it so.

If we are content to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives and to seek his help when we are in need, then Jesus would remind us: There is so much more!

If we are content to receive a wafer of consecrated bread on Sunday, and then consider our spiritual obligation complete, then Jesus would remind us: There is so much more!

If we are content with the progress we have made in our spiritual lives, no matter how much we may have grown, then Jesus would remind us: There is so much more!

Unless our hunger for ‘more’ is suppressed or ignored, we will always hunger for more! And God’s response is nothing if not overwhelmingly generous.

“If you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

Please Sir, can I have some more?