Beyond the morsel of bread

All right, we admit that evil stalks the land; and this situation is global. Our local dailies are littered with write-ups about criminals who have espoused the works of evil and their crimes, together with the corruption in governments, the breakdown of morals, and outright rebellion against the laws of God. Media seem to make all this a reportorial cup of tea. Can you imagine we are hemmed in by Filipino lords who have made themselves part of the world’s drug ring? What’s cooking among our politicians and government greats that they can no longer hold their reins and face the reality of why things have gone out of control?

The real question we ought to ask, I guess, is this: What kind of bread have we been fed? What kind of food is it that wreaks evil?

Jesus was using food metaphorically when He made the discourse on the bread of Life. And it is a very apt symbol. He was telling not only His disciples and the crowd numbering 5,000 whom the day before He fed with several loaves and two fishes miraculously multiplied. We know He did that out of pure compassion, but the crowd wanted to proclaim Him King immediately. The crowd sought Him the next day and found Him in Capernaum. Jesus confronted them saying, "You are looking for Me not because you see signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food that perishes but for food that endures for eternal life."

What is the daily fare we give our young breed apart from filling up their tummies with sandwiches and french fries? Most of them have gotten an appetite for dances gone wild, bold actresses screaming on billboards and cheap magazines and erotic novels where our young get all misconceptions about love and sex; also on screen, TV and even the Internet; films portraying humans with propensities of beasts. What kind of education does this give about human beings as God made them?

Jesus says, "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven and gives life to the world." And Jesus made the declaration: "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me never thirst."

The cutting edge of Jesus’ Word is sharp and digs deep into the greatest need humanity can ever experience – that of the need to be fed with God Himself. God sets no limits to its scope; it dares to assert that evil is essentially impermanent and that it stands defeated before the power of His mercy; for the mercy of God is given goodness and love, beauty and joy.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, John 6:24-35