Down South, Bubba called his attorney and asked, "Is it true they're suin' the cigarette companies for causing people to get cancer?
"Yes, Bubba, sure is true,” responded the lawyer.
"And now someone's suin' them fast food restaurants for making 'em fat and cloggin' their hearts with all them burgers and fries, is that true mister lawyer?"
"Sure is Bubba. But why you asking?"
"Cause what I want to know is, I was thinkin' can I sue Budweiser for all them ugly women I've slept with?"
We may take offense at Bubba’s sexist undertones but more to the point is how the conversation reveals the folly of indulging in our cravings and then blaming others for the harm and meaninglessness it brings to our life.
This generation that pampers and glorifies the body is more likely a reaction to the generation of ascetics. While the generations before exercised self-denial, lived an austere lifestyle, and even “punished” the body for greater spiritual freedom, today, our generation has developed a proclivity to bodily pleasure and physical satisfaction. We eat, drink, smoke, and indulge in sex to our heart’s content. Or the more health conscious among us show extra care for the body by taking whatever food supplements available. The vain among us, moreover, are just happy to spend their fortune for cosmetic applications and procedures if only to enhance and maintain their beautiful looks. We search for satisfaction and we seem to hope to find it by way of physical gratification.
But the fact is we are never satisfied. We end up feeling emptier despite the clutter with which we have bombarded our selves, more hungry and enslaved by stronger cravings than when we started out the quest for satisfaction.
Jesus, in today’s gospel (Jn 6: 24-35), chided the crowd that have been following him. They were following him for the wrong reason--for satisfaction of bodily hunger. They had partaken of the loaves miraculously multiplied by Jesus. Now they were following him for more bread! Jesus pointed this out to them as he said, “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (v. 26).
Jesus, wishing to lead them to the real meaning of the signs, continued addressing them and said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger” (v. 35). Jesus is the bread who truly satisfies us. This is the meaning of the miracle. It is He, Jesus, who satisfies not just our physical hunger but more deeply our spiritual hunger. Jesus is asking us to follow him not for more miracles of bread for the hungry stomach. He is asking us to follow HIM, the bread of life. His way of life is what satisfies our human existence truly. Discipleship offers us true meaning in life.
Our problem today is much similar to that of the crowd following Jesus. We don’t take notice of our spiritual hunger as much as we do our physical cravings. We spend our money, energy, and time much on food, drinks, sex, cosmetics, food supplements and whatever gives us immediate but temporary gratification. But how much do we invest for our spiritual needs and longing?
What is tricky though is that even when we believe we are into spiritual things we may still be suffering from profound spiritual handicap. For instance, as Charles Ringma noted (in the Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen) many of the renewal movements that offer a ‘life in the Spirit’ do not produce “a depth of spirituality with a vision for God, a strength of personal character, a passion for God’s Kingdom of justice and mercy, and a prayer life which expresses itself in costly discipleship and servanthood. Life in the Spirit has often become a comfortable self-seeking and ‘me-centered’ form of spirituality which emphasizes joy, but knows little about growth through trial and difficulty.”
Hence, while we think we are spiritually filled, we may in fact be empty-handed much like the crowd following Jesus for the sake of self-interested blessings. Our spiritual hunger persists because we are fed with bread other than Jesus himself.
What’s the invitation then? It is to attend to our spiritual longing by ‘feeding’ on the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. This of course reminds us of our participation in the sacrament of the Eucharist where we receive Jesus, the Lord, through the signs of the bread and wine. Do we nourish our spiritual hunger by our meaningful celebration of the Eucharist?
But beyond the sacramental celebration though, the invitation is for us to allow Jesus to dwell in us and let our lives be transformed into the kind that Jesus demands of us. In other words, beyond the sacramental participation, or more appropriately, along with it, is the invitation to real discipleship.
A satisfying life necessarily has to move beyond physical and temporary gratification of our hungers which paradoxically leads to a deeper emptiness. A fully satisfying life is that which is driven by a spirituality—one that is God-centered, passionate for God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and love. It is a spirituality of ‘costly discipleship’—following not merely for the bread and for the sake of the blessings but following Jesus HIMSELF, his way of life characterized by service and self-giving.
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