Monday of the Third Week of Easter
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells me belief does not mean just saying ‘yes’ to abstract, theological truths. It means seeing how God works in the history of the world, in myself and in others. With the help of scripture, do I ever ask Jesus to show me signs of his active presence in those seeming just-by-chance happenings I encounter?
If I do so, I’ll be able to receive “the food that endures for eternal life,” the food that “the Son of Man” will give me. Right? Isn’t that the basis of faith for today and the essence of hope for the future? Can’t “happenings” be the “works of God”? I recall how he responded to the cry of his chosen people in the desert on their way to their Emmaus, their final destination.
Then, there are the crowds described in today’s Gospel. They asked, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” And Jesus answered: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
Resolve: Today I shall spend time reflecting on and praying about my own need for the bread of life that will give me the power to carry on until the day on which God calls me to share eternal life with him and with so many others, and I shall ask him to give each one of us that same bread we desire, as we march on.