The fundamental food

Good morning, happy Friday, and blessings.
 
Today is May 1, International Workers' Day, a commemoration of the world labor movement. It is a day that has been habitually used to make different social and labor demands in favor of the working classes.
 
This year we have May 1 and the reality that the Coronavirus has causing the biggest unemployment spike in US history. Weekly jobless claims in the US surge to a record 3.28 million. Businesses continue to lay off and furlough workers amid the coronavirus outbreak. 6.6 million US workers filed for their first week of unemployment benefits, of course, the African American, indigenous, and Latin@ communities have taken the brunt of all of this. Once again, this is another way to recognize that capitalism is not in crisis; capitalism is the crisis.
 
And in this context, we have the Gospel for today, John 6:52-59 where people are excited and following Jesus like He is some type of traveling road show. It’s like they are waiting for Jesus to pull another rabbit out of a hat or do something supernatural so they can be amazed and blessed. Or maybe, they are thinking, “Well, he fed us yesterday, let’s see what is on the menu today or see how he can bless us in another way.
Then Jesus takes a sudden turn and goes from traveling miracle worker, to a Rabbi teaching deep spiritual truth. Allow me to paraphrase what Jesus initially told them- “Look, you are following me for the miracles- to get something that will satisfy your flesh, but you are missing the point. There are people who in moments of crisis or trouble run in search of God. The good thing is that God always receives us, but it would be much better if in times of joy we can have the ability to seek and find God.

Crises are a part of life. Some are global - tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorism, or coronavirus. Others are local - cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, or the death of a loved one. But here’s the question: “Is it possible to experience God in the midst of that kind of catastrophe? I think so.

In this Biblical narrative Jesus is not demeaning physical or social needs, he is only emphasizing spiritual needs as part of the human complement. And this because we neglect and abandon our spiritual needs. The Bible tells us that our spiritual needs are even more basic. And only Jesus, the Bread from heaven, can satisfy those needs. “You are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” On the one hand where we must be careful is to say that God is the one who gives us these crises of daily living. And on the other hand, that crises, whether physical, social, or spiritual, always interrelate, one affecting the other. But the emphasis here in this gospel today is on the spiritual without underestimating the rest.
 
What Jesus claims here is an important declaration. He says that the most elementary needs we have are not physical or sociological needs. Our spiritual needs are much more basic. Air, bread, and water will only keep us alive for a limited time. We all know that our bodies will not last forever. Our deeper and more fundamental needs are for “food that endures to eternal life”. Hence, Jesus declares himself as the bread of life.
 
Blessings
 
Fr. Luis+