We are what we eat
2018년 8월 4일Would you rather be well-fed or free? Would you rather “enjoy” the security of a slave or suffer the responsibility that comes with freedom? Even though they had seen miracles and experienced amazing things when God freed them from slavery, the Israelites complained. The desert is a scary place. No steady food. No shelter. No safety. The road or path. Hot days, cold nights. Wild animals. The Israelites wanted to return to Egypt as slaves rather than face the insecure and frightening future as free men and women. It seems the lesson here is the most dangerous idol in life is a full stomach.
Likewise the crowds followed Jesus, not because he demonstrated the power and presence of God in their midst, but because he had filled their stomachs. How often do we trade our conscience, our upbringing, our standards and our morals for a good meal, a promotion, more fashionable clothes, the chance to hang out with the “in” crowd? But these things are passing. And when they’re gone we are hungrier, lonelier and emptier than ever.
Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life. He is the food that gives strength and meaning to our existence. To understand how he does this, we need look no further than the Eucharist. Bread and wine. His body and blood. But to become bread and wine, seeds have to die. Wheat must be harvested, ground into flour, baked in an oven, and finally broken, eaten and digested. Similarly grapevines need pruning. Grapes must be picked, crushed, and fermented to become wine which gives us joy and makes a meal more festive.
Jesus’ teaching, indeed his entire life, is one of dying to self and rising to new life in order to feed us — not just with bread and wine, but with his very body and blood. Our Eucharist is “baked” by the Word of God and leavened by the Spirit to become us — that we might become Jesus! We do indeed become what we eat. Let is live lives worthy of this divine food.