My friends, why do we seek God? It’s a question we must ask ourselves honestly. Today’s readings challenge the very foundation of our daily ...
My friends, why do we seek God? It’s a question we must ask ourselves honestly. Today’s readings challenge the very foundation of our daily motivations, and they do so through three words: Fixation, Food, and Faith.
Our first word is Fixation. In today’s Gospel, the crowds are actively looking for Jesus. On the surface, this seems like a good thing. But Jesus sees past their actions and looks at their fixation. He tells them, "You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled." They were fixated on their stomachs, on temporary relief. How often do we treat God the exact same way? We seek Him fiercely when we need to pass a board exam, when we need a financial breakthrough, or when we are sick. There is nothing wrong with praying for these things, but if our relationship with God stops there, we are treating the Creator of the Universe like a cosmic vending machine.
Jesus invites us to elevate our fixation, leading us to our second word: Food. He says, "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life." All the earthly things we stress over—money, status, even our physical health—will eventually perish. But Jesus offers a different kind of nourishment. He offers His very self to nourish our souls. When our souls are fed by Christ, we gain a supernatural resilience that the world cannot take away.
This resilience is beautifully illustrated in our final word: Faith. Look at St. Stephen in our first reading. He is standing before a hostile council. People are telling vicious lies about him to get him executed. If Stephen's fixation was on earthly survival, he would be terrified. But because his soul is nourished by heavenly food, his Faith transforms him. The Scriptures say his face looked "like the face of an angel." He had absolute peace in the middle of a warzone.
Brothers and sisters, let us examine our hearts today. Are we working tirelessly only for the things that perish? Let us shift our gaze. Let us seek Jesus not just for what He can give us, but for who He is, allowing His eternal life to be the anchor of our faith. Amen.
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