There are two parts of a happy life: acquiring and giving: deep joy comes when we are like God and “feed” others
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 4, 2024
Although the readings talk a lot about food – our need for food and how God fed the Israelites – perhaps the deeper message of God is: how do we cope with challenges and find meaning in life when change comes? Here, it’s important to understand the two halves of life: the first half is about acquiring and receiving; while the second-half of life is about giving away and helping others to “eat.”
By acquiring and receiving, we gain knowledge, skills, and at least a little wealth. This is gives us what is necessary for the second half of life: to teach, to assist, to feed.
So, the journey of life is to become like God: providing “food” and opportunities for others.
One of the common human conditions we all have to fight against is the temptation to complain about what we don’t have. When I worked underground as a young mining engineer for two years as a machine miner (=hard work), I learnt a valuable lesson:
The system of payment was called piece-work rates: you only get paid for each tonne of rock, or metre of tunnel developed. That meant we were motivated to work hard =the easy lesson.
The real lesson came from: what to do if the machine broke down? There was no compensation. Taking it up to the surface would mean losing half a day’s work =less money! We learned to be resourceful and work together, using whatever we had: a lesson echoed in today’s readings; ie. look for the opportunities in challenges. Like the Israelites, we must trust that God has already provided, and our job is look more carefully and try new things.
The Israelites in the First Reading fell into the temptation of blaming others for what was missing, rather than looking around at what was available. Is that our problem, also? It’s as if Jesus said: You cannot think about your souls for thinking of your stomachs.
To look around for new ideas and opportunities is to feed the soul. To whinge and complain is to think of the stomach. The soul is fed, not only with pious prayers, but creative activities.
It’s understandable, being in a new environment, to think of the “good bits” of the past instead of opening our eyes and seeing new opportunities, now. In the First Reading, God helped the Israelites see a new type of “bread” lying on the ground each morning in the desert.
Do you think if we stopped thinking about comforts we had in the past, we might see new opportunities around us? This can be a big challenge for us when we first leave home: Mum and Dad are not there to provide the necessities for us.
Just as the birth of a child is very painful for the mother, and shocking for the child, we also need to be ready for some pain and shock. Pain, of itself, isn’t always bad: it motivates us to change & triggers healing. What we need to worry about is our attitude and ability to adapt.
To navigate life’s changes, we need a solid foundation:
1) Be loyal to your family and make sacrifices for each other, just as Christ sacrificed for us;
2) Avoid debt, live healthily, and
3) constantly seek new skills: anything is better than nothing! As St Eugene de Mazenod said: discover who you are in the eyes of God =develop your talents and discover new talents.
These habits prepare us to see opportunity in what God has already provided, and gives us something we can give generously in our later years.
Today’s readings encourage us to accept each other as we are, not as we want the other to be: assuming there is no abuse, we need to look around and appreciate the good (soul work), and let the frustrations go (stomach work): one day we’ll realise “we” also needed to change.
For children looking at their parents: appreciate the positives; don’t live in a dreamland of what you think they should be; one day you will also be an imperfect parent. Life is tough; we all have good and bad experiences and they affect us: that’s why our parents are not perfect.
For husbands and wives: celebrate the positives in each other, and let the frustrations go: spend more time “feeding” each other: laughing and listening; fresh opportunities will appear. Focusing on negatives will only make life very sad. “Eat” the positive: it leads to happiness.
Coming back to getting food and learning new skills: initially it might look like we are greedy, but through our desire for food and money, we can develop good habits to work hard, and stay strong (eating well).
The reality is: we need food, and we need money to care for our families and ourselves. But Christ invites us to go beyond ourselves and see how we can feed others (=2nd part of life). It is this second part of life that brings us true and lasting joy, for we start to become like God.
By Gerard Conlan, OMI
