Dear Preachers:
A friend of mine has cancer. She has had to go for chemo and deal with the side effects. I know you know how debilitating that can be. If we haven’t gone through it ourselves, we know family and friends who have. My friend is widowed and her children live a long way from her. They call her every day asking, “Mom, how are you doing?” They take turns visiting, but they have their own children and jobs, so it’s hard to visit frequently. But my friend says, to reassure her kids, “Don’t worry, I’ve got Mary.”
Mary is her life-long friend. Both are retired teachers and Mary goes with her for treatments. When she is too sick Mary cooks and shops for her. So, my friend tells her anxious children, “Don’t worry, I’ve got Mary.” Both my friend and her children always say the same thing when talking about Mary, “Thank God for Mary.”The children say, “It sounds like Mary’s first name is, “Thank God,” because whenever we speak of her we always say, ‘Thank God for Mary.”‘
A lot of people in need receive help at just the right time from family, friends and even strangers, who seem to show up from nowhere. When that happens the recipients of the kindness will express their gratitude with a sincere thanks and even a small gift of appreciation to the one who helped them. But some people see even more than a helping hand when they are in need. We can say they are people whose eyes are “wide open.” In terms of today’s gospel they “see.” In other words, they can read the signs. They not only see the person who helps them, but the One who sent them help. So, like my friends, they say, “Thank God for________.” Fill in the blanks, I’m sure you can.
Today’s gospel takes place right after the crowds ate the multiplied bread Jesus provided them. He fed them because they were hungry. Hungry and needy people need to be taking care of — that’s basic in the Gospels. But Jesus reminds them, even though they have been well fed now, they will be hungry again. Educators would call this a “teachable moment.” Jesus is taking advantage of the opportunity to remind them to put their efforts into getting a more-enduring food, not only for their bodies, but food for a deeper life. He is speaking of himself, of course. He is the food that will not let them down; that gives a new life which starts now and will not fade with the passage of time. In fact, it will grow even richer.
Jesus certainly knows we have physical needs and hungers: especially with a sick family member; after the loss of a loved one; during hard economic times; in times of war and the threat of more war. But surely he means more to us than help for the immediate situations we find ourselves in. Of course we hope our loved ones will get well; the economy turn around; peace comes, etc. But if things improve, will we have less need for him in our lives? Or, do we see that Jesus can feed our long — lasting hungers? He offers to be the bread that will last and not run out on us, “true bread from heaven.”
When the people ask Jesus, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” he responds, pointing to himself, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one God sent.”They respond by pointing to their past, “Moses gave us bread in our hard time and we were able to travel across the desert.” Jesus says, “Well, Moses may have fed you bread, but God was the provider of the bread. Couldn’t you read the signs, it was God who gave the bread.” Jesus is asking them to open their eyes and “see,” — that is, have faith in him.
Jesus is speaking to us about right now, because God still gives us “bread from heaven.” My friend saw God doing that in her friend Mary. She said that God had sent her Mary, “Mary is my God-sent.”
That’s something for each of us to reflect on today, isn’t it? Are we grateful for the help we have gotten in hard times and do we see God as the Provider of that help? If we have read the signs, if we had “wide open eyes,” then we are grateful for those who fed us bread when we needed it.
We are thankful for the Provider who sent us the friend who said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there with you”; for the teacher who spends extra time to help us pass a test; for the catechist who helped us see God in new ways; for the grandparent, uncle or aunt who lent us the money to finish school, or helped us find a job; for the church volunteer who helped us look beyond our immediate needs to see the desperate needs of others. They, like Moses in the desert, were the feeders, but God was the One who provided the bread. Did we see the “sign”? How do we respond to this bountiful and generous God, who provides nourishing bread in so many shapes and sizes? We can take our clue from the 14th century Dominican mystic Meister Eckhart who said, “If the only prayer we ever say in our lives is ‘Thank you,’ that will be enough.”
Which is what the word Eucharist means, “Thank you.” Thank you to our God, the One who provides the lasting bread, Jesus Christ. Listen to how often we will say “Thank you,” or express gratitude, during our Eucharistic prayer. When we hear it, we can recall the people God sent to feed our hungers, physical and spiritual — the feeders. Then say, “Thank you,” to the God who provided that bread.”If the only prayer we ever say in our lives is ‘Thank you,’ that will be enough.”