Aug. 1, 2021: 18th Sunday B

 Aug. 2, 2021: 18th Sunday B

It was a rainy and cold day on Wall Street, New York. A taxi dropped off a young management consultant in front of a building. In order to approach the entrance of the building, he had to step over a homeless man who was lying down wrapped in a blanket. As he stepped over, something happened that changed the trajectory of his life. “I distinctly heard in the depth of my soul God speaking to me saying ‘Allen, when are you going to stop serving yourself and start serving Me?’” In that jarring moment, he was torn inside. He loved earthly recognition, rewards, and goods; he was not ready to part with his successful career. Yet deep inside Allen was well aware of Jesus’ call, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” 

We too struggle each day, like Allen, to seek the true good that God desires to give us. Wanting our own way is our natural inclination and temptation. We often desire and want what we don’t need and what’s not good for us.  We have insatiable love for a comfortable lifestyle; we are attached to amenities and the finer things of life. We love being noticed, praised, and honored by others; we fear being ignored, rejected, or passed over. 

Although written 2,000 years ago, St. Paul’s message to the Ephesians is still relevant for us, “Brothers and sisters… you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” In order for us to know what Christ desires for us, we have to look within and cast aside that which entangles us in disordered self gratification. 

Last week,we heard the Gospel reading of the miracle of Jesus multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of more than 5,000. Many who were fed at that miracle sought Jesus and followed him. Yet, Jesus knew the motivation of their hearts. They were seeking to be filled by bodily pleasures. He said, “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” They were not seeking Jesus for the sake of Jesus. Jesus came to teach us that, “One does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” 

If today we were to hear from Jesus, ‘When are you going to stop serving yourself and start serving Me,’ how would we respond?  Are we satisfied with merely feeding our physical wants, or do we hunger for real life? Our Lord said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” What kind of life is Jesus referring to? He is referring to a relationship with the Heavenly Father which is a relationship of obedience, love, and trust. Covenant relationship with the Father is not a one-way relationship in which the Father gives us His Son. Jesus sacrificed himself for us in order that we will be in relationship with the Father. In turn, we sacrifice our desires and our will to Jesus in response so that we will be changed to become more Christ-like.  

When Allen heard Jesus’ interior call, he left Wall Street and his career as management consultant to become a Methodist minister with a congregation of 15,000. While attending graduate school, he befriended a classmate who was a Catholic priest. They vacationed together, and Allen would often attend Catholic mass with his Catholic priest friend. Then one day, Allen told the priest that he would like to become Catholic. The priest friend challenged Allen to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament to discern whether the Eucharist is the central reason and motivation for him desiring to become a Catholic. As Allen spent time before the Lord in adoration, he felt and became convinced of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 15 years after the interior call from Jesus on that rainy day on Wall Street, Allen Hunt entered the Catholic Church. The Eucharist changed Allen from a self-determined man to a Christ-serving disciple. 

Mother Teresa said, "Each one of us is a co-worker of Christ - we must labor hard to carry Him to the hearts where He has not yet been known and loved...But, unless we have Jesus, we cannot give Him; that is why we need the Eucharist.” Each time we receive the Holy Eucharist, we must decide to leave behind self-serving and prideful behaviors. We come to Eucharist not because it’s a precept of the Church. We come to Jesus in the Eucharist because we desire the heavenly food that will change us to be merciful like Christ.  We need Jesus to transform us into himself. Jesus needs us to carry his love to the hungry one, the naked one, and the lonely one.