What’s pretty normal about the crowds in today’s gospel, is that they were not satisfied with the gift of bread they had received from Jesus. Once wasn’t enough, they still wanted more. Aren’t we like that too? Many newlywed couples start out living in a starter home with the goal of building a new home as soon as they get a promotion. A lot of women like to shop for clothing and shoes. They buy a new outfit and then aren’t satisfied with the shoes they already have so they buy another pair of shoes and on it goes. Men too, have their weaknesses, like tools and fishing rods, electronics or new cars. After a while none of these new things make us happy, so we go out and buy something else to get that “new” feeling all over again. Unfortunately, sometimes people even feel that way about marriage and when the honeymoon period is over, they leave looking for something more. It seems like what we already have, we aren’t always satisfied with it.
Life isn’t about seeking pleasure though, especially in our spiritual lives. Sometimes even our spiritual life itself can become a way of seeking pleasure or happiness. Many people progress so far in prayer and then begin to experience certain consolations from God so they are eager for this gift to return. They seek it’s return, rather than seek the giver of the gift. Many people also chase after this or that miracle, private revelations, appearances of Mary or people with special gifts of prophecies. These things do happen on rare occasion, but they shouldn’t replace a genuine life of prayer and the sacraments.
Another thing that has become a lot more popular are the charismatic healing masses. These can definitely be a genuine source of renewal and spiritual healing, but they should also never be used as a band-aid for the real thing, regular prayer, communion and confession.
A lot more people these days have a fascination in exorcisms and things related to the occult. These things are oddities. They are a bit glamorous and different from what we have ever experienced. We certainly need to be aware of the devil’s real presence in the world, but these dark forces are not anything to play around with just because they are fascinating. (The best protection against the devil is of course a genuine prayer life and frequent reception of the sacraments.)
One last thing to mention are the unusual qualities of some of the saints. Their incorrupt bodies, miraculous healing powers, bilocation, levitation, spiritual ecstasies, etc. Far more important than these unusual spiritual gifts are the way the saints lived their lives, their relationship to the Lord. And this brings us to the first reading today when Stephen was “filled with grace and power and was working great wonders and signs among the people”. The gift of the Holy Spirit was so profoundly present with Stephen that no one could successfully challenge the wisdom with which he spoke. They were probably jealous at this obvious manifestation of the Holy Spirit within Stephen. They wanted this gift too, but God didn’t give it to them. So they became jealous and gave false witnesses about him hoping that maybe the Sanhedrin would order him put to death just like they did with that man Jesus, that Stephen so profoundly loved.
Sometimes we chase after things we can’t have and when we don’t get them, we get upset about it. But, there are no shortcuts to the reception of spiritual gifts. Actually, that is why we call them a gift, because it’s freely given by God and not something we can achieve on our own. For an example, most of us do not regularly give gifts to strangers and people that we don’t know. It is the same with the Lord. He doesn’t usually give gifts to people who don’t know him either. The gifts he showers on those he loves is because they love him, spend time with him and share this love with other people too.
The first reading today closed by saying that everyone that gazed upon Saint Stephen when he was falsely accused, and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. This is God’s grace that was shining through Saint Stephen’s face. This is what they all wanted, but did not know how to have for themselves. But, we do. Jesus told us to work for the food that lasts in eternal life, which is love for God and love for one another. We find Jesus through regular prayer from the heart, and through the sacraments of our church. This is probably not anything new to you and I, but we can still renew our commitment to spend more time on spiritual things, than continually seeking material things and fleeting interests, that will not endure for eternal life. Love is the only thing that endures. Love is really the only thing that will ever satisfy us, and is our most basic human need. Why do we spend so much time on things that do not satisfy us? A good relationship with Jesus, our family, friends and faith community are the things that are the most satisfying, both in this life and in the life to come.
