1 August 2021
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus gives a strange correction to the crowds in today’s gospel: “you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (Jn. 6:26). Jesus is trying to show them an indication of the goodness and care of God, and they are focused on the fact that they ate food in abundance (without considering the source of their food). Jesus wishes to redirect the motives of those who seek Him.
Like the crowds, we may seek Jesus for Heavenly motives, or for earthly ones. We may come to Jesus because He is our only salvation. We may also come to Jesus because He helps us get through the turmoil of our days. What the crowds sought from Jesus is not bad, but it is incomplete. Jesus can help us get through the toil of our days on earth, but He is also the only way the purpose of our lives—life with God in Heaven—can be attained. When we seek Jesus only for earthly motives, we do not seek Jesus in His fulness.
How do we correct our own motives, as Jesus corrected the crowd’s? Part of the answer comes from recognizing how temporary any earthly motives are. Wanting to get through the day is not bad, but the success only lasts a day. Tomorrow, you have to start again. And again. And again. The peace of salvation, however, is a peace that lasts. Heavenly motives for seeking Jesus aim at what is lasting. See how lasting the heavenly motives are, and seek Jesus for the right reasons.