REMEDY FOR HUNGER PAINS

Several years ago, IKEA Furniture Company ran a commercial that was quite clever. The viewer saw a kitchen cabinet door that was opening and closing back and forth, over and over again. And in the background, one could hear a child's voice saying, "Mom, can I have a cookie?, Mom, can I have a cookie?". Over and over again, the question sounded and with it, the door opened and closed. Thus, trying the patience of a mom, but proving the endurance of IKEA cabinet furniture! Indeed, the point was made: IKEA furniture endures.

We know that in real life, hunger endures as well. Like a repeating record, how often, we get hungry and hungry over and over again. At times, we may call out for cookies, but our hungers take many and varied shapes and sizes, throughout the course of our lives and it seems whether we are young or old, our hungers know no lasting peace.

Of course, this reality is nothing new; this is not particular just to us. We have proof of that in today's readings. In Exodus, we hear the moans and groans of the people, 600,000 of them not including children. Crying out to poor Moses, saying that they would rather be slaves in Egypt and have full stomachs, than be free and hungry in the desert. How sad! And in the Gospel, we hear the hunger refrain continuing, with the crowd of people following the Lord. The Good News is that they are following Jesus, the sad news is that they are following him not because of faith, but because of hunger. Having eaten the loaves and fish, they hunger again...and they are still searching for more.

And so the Lord provides. But notice well, how he provides for them, and what he is providing. He provides not by feeding them more food, but rather by inviting them to a radical faith, faith in him. We get a foretaste of this in the First Reading. In the Old Testament, notice that the Lord provides not just the manna, but instruction as well. They were to collect the manna, day-by-day. No hording, no storing, but rather daily collecting, thus demanding faith, faith in the providence of God, that he will provide the manna for tomorrow. The lesson and the gift here is not just manna but the invitation to faith and obedience to the Lord who provides.

In the New Testament, we see something similar. The people say, "Sir, give us this bread always, so that we never hunger." And Jesus says, "I am the Bread of Life, whoever, comes to me will never hunger, whoever believes in me will never thirst." Notice well, the instruction. To "come" and then "to believe". This, my friends, is the way the Lord provides, for the hungers of the crowd. You see it's not just a matter of following Jesus, of witnessing miracles, or eating multiplied bread. It's a matter of obedience, coming and believing in the Lord and only in this way, will our hearts be satisfied.

Friends, is this not true of our lives, as well? Is it not true that the only rememdy for our hungers is love?? And that Love can make all the difference in life? And that is what the Lord is inviting us to...namely Love.

In our relationship with Jesus, our coming to Church, are we aware of Love. Where is the Love in our relationship with the Lord? Do we have a love relationship with the Lord, or is our relationship with the Lord driven by our hungers. Does our prayer sound like love, or like a broken record/IKEA commerical, "Jesus, can I have a ....?" We are challenged today to seek the Jesus and his enduring love.

Our presence here today should be a sign of love, a sign of our obedience, our duty to love the Lord. We give him this time, we "come to Him", we "profess our faith" in Him and he gives us HIMSELF. What a tremendous gift. This is what the Eucharist is all about. And this is what the Eucharist brings forth, i.e. Love.

My friends, this is why I am a Catholic Priest, not to serve bread on Sundays, for mere unleavened bread does not satisfy. Rather, I am a priest in order to bring forth the love of Jesus to the world. And His love alone can satisfy. For God is Love. And so, we are invited as the crowd is invited today, to love Jesus. To come to him, to believe in him. And in doing this, we find that our hungers are satisfied, that we have our daily bread, that our God is a faithful God. How wonderful, to know and love Jesus with all our hungers and desires! Let us, then, allow that love to lead us, to guide us, and to provide for us. He will, He really will!