Word to the Wise
Monday, April 27, 2009 - Monday in the Third Week of Easter
[Acts 6:8-15 and John 6:22-29]"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. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
Over and over again in the Gospel of John the process of "coming to belief" is played out in scene after scene. Most often it begins with a statement from Jesus which is then "misunderstood" and Jesus has to explain again until the other (or others, as in today's gospel) begins to "get it." Characters such as Nicodemus, the Woman at the Well, the Man Born Blind, Martha the sister of Lazarus are all examples of this process. Today an entire group of persons, having tasted the bread that Jesus gave them in the multiplication of the loaves, comes looking for more food. Jesus tells them that they have missed the deeper meaning of his action. The earlier bread, no matter how tasty, will fill them for one meal. The Bread of Life will fill them forever. (One must read on in this same chapter to get to what is called the "Bread of Life discourse.") To believe in Jesus is to experience eternal life! Bringing others to faith is truly the work of God, but it begins with our own commitment. It can be a very inspiring experience to learn how others have "come to believe," "Cradle Catholics" have a way of taking faith for granted. It has always been there since infancy and is part of the very identity of the person. To intentionally choose to enter the Catholic Church with all its history and the complex system of theological heritage requires a profound commitment. Baptism alone will not suffice! In the Gospel of Luke yesterday, we saw how even well-intentioned companions of Jesus had to "do their homework" to understand what happened to Jesus and why. Today, the Gospel of John reminds us that for most folks it's a long story. AMEN
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