Homily for Monday of the 3rd Week of Easter
In our Gospel this morning, those who were present for the feeding of the 5000 have come in search of Jesus. Why? Jesus gives us the answer – He tells them that the only reason they’re searching for Him and seeking to follow Him is because they were satisfied. Yes, the Lord filled their physical hunger by giving them food to eat; but He also filled their spiritual hunger.
The people of Jesus’ time were starving for a message of truth; they were desperately hungry for a message of hope. The Jewish authority figures weren’t giving it to them…they were so stuck on trying to get people to follow the Law that they missed the point of their ministry completely. Then Jesus comes onto the scene and starts giving the people what they need.
In His preaching and ministry, Jesus starts speaking truth to the hearts of the people. He challenges them to live in accord with the teachings of the faith, while also cultivating a personal relationship with the Father. And yet, so many who were following Him to hear His message still didn’t fully know or understand who He was. So many still couldn’t bring themselves to recognize that He is the Messiah. That’s what He’s saying to them in today’s account from John.
Jesus is the One who can fulfill all of our deepest desires. He is the One who knows all of our needs and wants. He is the One who knows every bit of our hearts. He is the One who wants to bring healing and wholeness to our lives. He isn’t just someone who speaks nice words; He is the Savior who is the very Word itself. He is Truth itself, Goodness itself, Love itself. Do we believe Him to be so?
Let’s strive to recommit to our faith in Him today, recognizing who He is as our Lord and Savior, and asking Him to satisfy all the desires and needs of our hearts.
Image: Bread for the Hungry. Photo by Lawrence OP. Flickr. Used under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Creative Commons license.
Fr. Tom Pringle 