Well, this is it for 2024.
I think it is time to loosen my grip on things that are over, so I can fully utilize my hands to cultivate things I should have already done. And then open them to hold new things. All and only through complete surrender to God. And so I ask Him what He wants from me in 2025.
“What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?” ~St. John 6:28
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ~St. John 6:29
How are we to believe? For what reason? By what sign?
Moses gave their ancestors bread, miraculous manna, from heaven. This is what they were expecting in order to believe, miraculous bread from heaven. This is what was told to them, passed down to them in Scripture and through their family traditions. This is unchanging truth. It is what has been passed down to us, as well. Why do we look for anything else to do but to respond to unchanging truth?
Jesus answered, “I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ~St. John 6:33
I echo their response over thousands of years. That is the only bread I want. True bread. “Lord, give us this bread always.” ~St. John 6:34
Jesus answered, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry; he who believes in Me will never thirst.” ~St. John 6:35
This conversation explains and elevates the miracle of manna and the miracle the people had just witnessed the day before in the multiplication of the loaves. He had been preparing them for His plan, for His ultimate gift. This is the first announcement of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
“He paused to search their faces, looking into their eyes, hoping that they would respond with faith and trust, but knowing many of them would not.” ~Fr. John Bartunek, The Better Part
He still looks at us like that.
I know that feeling of vulnerability. From watching someone open a gift you picked out especially for them…to sharing something so precious and amazing and intimate, hoping it is enough to spark a return of true love and change lives. Not just change them; save them.
It is heart-breaking to receive rejection, disbelief and indifference in a moment like that. Hard enough when it comes from strangers. Devastating from best friends and family. And every single human face He looks at with this hope is the face of His family…a child He has created in His very own image.
Jesus: “Your heart is restless, I know. That’s good. You want more out of your life, I do too. I am what you are looking for. Know me better; listen to me; trust me more. Why do you keep trying to be a saint on your own? Your efforts can do nothing alone. I am not asking you to go off and become perfect and then come back to me so I can let you into my Kingdom. My Kingdom is not something you get into by submitting a resume, as if you were applying for a job. My Kingdom is My Family. You don’t have to earn my love; I love you already. You only have to trust me, lean on me, and follow me. Why else would I give my own life to be your food? Be at peace. I am with you.” ~The Better Part
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ~St. John 6:29
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