Monday of the Third Week of Easter
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
What made you go looking for Jesus? What was it that you wanted? What was that thing that caused you to actually begin the journey to Him? For me, it was a deep emptiness, a profound sense of longing, a lack of direction. When I decided to stop living for the world and start living for Jesus, it was because I acutely experienced how miserable I was without Him. It is an interesting thing because what Jesus points out in this gospel is exactly that.
We come to Him for various needs, wants, or desires. We come to Jesus because he is everything, we come to Jesus because he gives us things, we come to Jesus because he performs signs. Jesus receives us without partiality; this we can be sure of. There is no reason to stop coming to Jesus, no matter how manipulative, mixed, selfish, or confused our motivations are. He is not afraid or angry with us because we want things. He is not scandalized by us. But what is most desirable to His heart is the lover who wants Jesus because he is Jesus. For those of you who are parents, do you stop loving your child or become angry with them because they need food? Of course not. But what is the thing that makes your heart melt the most? Those moments when they seem to forget about what they were playing with, and just sit with you because they love you, because they want to be close to you.
It is Jesus’ joy to provide everything for us, indeed there is nothing that does not come from His hand. But what is irresistible to Him is the soul that says, Lord, I want to be here with you because you are my God, my love, my all. Reflect on what first drew you to the Lord. What happened? What was it like? Has anything changed? What keeps you coming to mass? What keeps you returning to prayer? What has the Lord purified in you? What still needs to be purified?
Reflection by Jacob, seminarian
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections