Ordinary 18
by Lanie LeBlanc OP

The Scripture passages this Sunday are 
rather straightforward and simple. They tell us to believe what God has said and 
done for us and act accordingly. Yet, we humans doubt and doubt again and often 
slip into our "former way of life."

The passage from the Book of Exodus sees a 
grumbling community in the desert and a God who supplies their daily needs for 
nourishment of food and bread nonetheless. God doesn't retaliate; God even feeds 
them abundantly, twice a day . It is hard for me not to laugh in disbelief at 
the Israelites' "what is this?" when unfamiliar quail and manna are not to their 
liking! Not to their liking ? Really !!! How ungrateful.

Yet how often does God provide for me and 
I question "what is this?" in those same words or more likely "You want me to 
deal with what ????" Usually, I am not in a desert place although sometimes my 
spiritual growth can feel like I am or I need to deal a challenging situation 
like 100 degree weather in usually pleasant 75- 80 degree Seattle and we have no 
air conditioning. Real sandy desert or a gritty spiritual one, God still does 
provide. I know that, most of us do. He has in the past and will continue to do 
so.

In the Gospel passage from John, Jesus 
tells the crowd that He is the Bread of Life, the food that endures for eternal 
life. Those who will come to Jesus will never hunger or thirst. That is Jesus's 
response to the crowd asking for a sign. It is His response to why they are 
seeking Him... they don't really want yet another sign, they want to be feed. It 
is His response to me whenever I need nourishment of any kind. Whether I am 
trying to break an old habit or do the work of God, the truthful answer is that 
I always need to believe in this total nourishment by the Bread of Life.

In the Letter of St. Paul to the 
Ephesians, we are told that "truth is in Jesus". We, too, need to "be renewed in 
the spirit of your minds" and believe that all we need is in Jesus. It may seem 
difficult at times because what we are often asked to do is not what we 
expected. The truth is that what we expect does not matter in the long run... 
unless what we expect is that Jesus will continue to be sure that we do not 
hunger or thirst. What matters is Jesus, the Bread of Life, pure and simple. I 
pray that living this faith becomes more pure and simple day by day, especially 
by my being able to take advantage of receiving this Bread of Life as often as 
possible.

(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@mindspring.com.)