Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Several months ago my wife and I were blessed with the news that she is pregnant and that we are now parents! I can say without hesitation that I’ve never been filled with more joy, more excitement, or more love for my wife. I’ve found it amazing and surreal how my perception of life, my perception of the world around me, and my perception of myself have changed so drastically and so abruptly when viewed from the eyes of a new father. As a result, I’ve reevaluated a lot and I’ve tried to reprioritize a lot, knowing full well that I have a ways to go and understanding that becoming the best father I can be (much like becoming the best disciple I can be) is a lifelong process. All of this has added a completely new dimension to my prayer life. Praying for the soul of this new life has become my daily joy, and I often find the words of the priest at baptism echoing in the quiet of my heart and saying, “I claim you for Christ.”
Even now, there are so many things that I want to give our child and so many things that I want to teach him or her, such as how to play baseball, how to ride a bike, or how to dance. But much more than any of these things, I want to give our child a relationship with God! And I am convinced that no more intimate of a relationship with Jesus can be realized than within the Catholic faith.! In a world where we are bombarded with a multitude of false reasons to doubt, despair in, or dissuade others from Christ and His Church, I want to give our child the right reasons to seek after God, the right reasons to follow Him, and the right reasons to cherish their relationship with Jesus as a disciple. These thoughts captivated my heart as I reflected on today’s readings.
Today’s Gospel from the sixth chapter of John (which is unequivocally my favorite chapter in all of Scripture) addresses our reasons for seeking after Christ. It describes the aftermath of Jesus’ miracle of the multiplication of the loaves leading into the beginning of Jesus’ cherished “Bread of Life Discourse.” We read how many people seek after Jesus after he feeds the five thousand men, looking for Him in Tiberias and eventually finding Him in Capernaum. Upon finding Jesus, Christ says, “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.” In other words, it’s not Jesus Himself that they desire, but their reason to seek after Jesus was to get a free meal. As I read this, I reflected on my own reasons for seeking after Jesus and many questions came to mind. Is Jesus alone my end goal? What do I desire from Jesus? What does Jesus desire for me? What are my reasons for practicing my faith? I found myself asking these questions as if our new child was asking them years down the road.
Our reasons have huge implications for the way in which we live as Christians. Reasons are easy to come by, but it’s the right reasons that will draw us into relationship with God. For instance, if our son or daughter were to ask why we go to Mass, he or she may listen to the world and feel that the intent of Mass is simply: (1) to appease God; (2) to avoid the guilt of not attending; or (3) we’re Catholic and this is what Catholics do. It’s obvious that none of these reasons will lead us into closer relationship with God. But, if my reason, as Jesus describes in today’s Gospel, is to receive “the food that endures for eternal life,” which is Jesus Himself, then that’s a game-changer! Yet sometimes even when we start out with the right reasons and the best of intentions, it’s easy to be distracted by the superficial. Reverting back to my previous example, even if we come to receive Jesus in the Eucharist it’s easy to later reduce the quality of Mass to the quality of the music or the quality of the sermon, and we suddenly forget why we came in the first place. We must pray for the grace to be satisfied in Christ alone, and allow Him to be our reason- our reason for living, our reason for loving, and our reason for living out our call as disciples.
As Christians, whether we are fathers or mothers, we are always called to evangelize by giving others the right reasons to believe, to hope, and to seek after God. One thing that I have learned and I find it important to note, is that the right reasons are not found as a result of human logic, human eloquence, excellence in debate, or oratory skill. Rather, our “right reasons” are only found and understood as a result of the Holy Spirit. In today’s first reading, Stephen, the newly ordained deacon of the Church, is working great wonders and signs among the people and he is challenged by the Synagogue of Freedmen, the Cyrenians, the Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia. Yet, only as a result of the Holy Spirit are they unable to withstand the wisdom of Stephen’s reasons. For myself as a father, I will by no means have all the right reasons all the time and I trust that God will give me His Holy Spirit to always explain with love and the excitement that I feel for my own faith. Rather than being a father who has all the answers, I want to be a father who knows where all the answers are found, which is in God and in His Church.
Today, as disciples, let us prayerfully reflect on our reasons for seeking after Christ and let us take advantage of the opportunities that God gives us to share these reasons with others. May we echo the words of today’s psalmist and ask God to remove us from “the way of falsehood” and choose the “the way of truth,” such that we may always follow Jesus for the right reasons and lead others to the Lord. Amen.
Ryan J. Mahle