Fr John’s reflection for 4 Aug 2024
Do not work for food that does not last but work for food that endures for eternal life.
We are often told by dieticians and nutritionists that we are what we eat. In a world where diets come in and out of fashion, we are often bombarded with too much information to look after our bodies. There is often a plethora of information about what will make us healthy and what can sustain us. The focus while important can make a lot of money for people who seek to tell us what to do. As a person who has struggled to maintain a healthy weight and be told the mantra watch what you eat and exercise more, I am often confused by whose voice I listen to. I want to be healthy but find that even when I work hard in seeking to maintain a good and healthy balance it often focuses more on externals rather than an internal disposition.
This is where our reflection of this week’s Gospel draws us into sharp focus. We so often pay attention to what others tell us is healthy that we do not focus on what endures and sustains us in life. We need to look at things that are nutritious and life-giving, but this is not just about the food that we consume but rather the thoughts that fill our minds and hearts. When we look at the Eucharist this is not just about receiving communion but rather an encounter with the person who brings us to life. This is where the Gospel clarifies that working for God is to believe in the one he sent. A person who can nourish our body and soul. This encounter reshapes how we see ourselves as a person befriended into life.
When we witness our week, we are called not to follow illusory ideas that cause us to follow every new “diet” that promises to satisfy us. We are called as St Paul says to the Ephesians to renewed in the goodness and holiness of the truth. So often we are informed about what the issue of the day that needs to be addressed for our good. Yet over the last week, we have recognised that instant media can feed us with counterfeit food. It can also lead us into conversations and debates that waste our time and dissipate our spirits. I think when we invite people to the table, we need to choose carefully what it is that we consume. We live in a world that will fill us with good, bad, and the ugly all too quickly we can swallow it whole. Yet we are to be formed by a person who seeks us out for our good and the good of the whole world. This is where each time we gather for the Eucharist we are called to be transformed not just by the host we consume but the person who invites us to the table. We are to work for people who seek to live for the truth that renews us to be people of Good News. In encountering each day as a time blessed by the Lord, we discover the person of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
DE COLORES!
Fr. John Armstrong
“The intellectual quest is exquisite, like pearls and coral. But it is not the same as the spiritual quest. The spiritual quest is on another level altogether. Spiritual wine has a subtler taste. The intellect and the senses investigate cause and effect. The spiritual seeker surrenders to wonder.” (Rumi Wisdom; trans. Timothy Freke)