This is a syndicated post from Daily Meditations with Fr. Alfonse. [Read the original article...]
The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while”…People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
Why did the crowd follow Jesus? What were they interested in? What did they want to hear?
The Lord saw the vast crowd; his heart was moved with pity for them. So he began to teach them. What did he begin to tell them?
Listen to me…Truly, truly I tell you, the reason why the sky is blue is because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun. This is the reason why.
Listen to me, all of you…The reason why your stomach is growling at this moment is because your digestive muscles are contracting.
Listen to me. The reason why you’re sweating so much is because it’s your body’s way of staying cool.
No. This is not what the Lord talked about or the reason why the crowds were enormous.
People do not want to know how they came to be but why they came to be. The answers to these questions go way beyond the reach of certain sciences such as biology, chemistry and physics and right into the hands of the Sciences of Philosophy and Theology.
It is these aspects of life that most interest us and continue to intrigue us and attract our attention. No wonder why scientific symposiums attract so few people. No wonder why science books do not sell as well as poetry, music and romances. They don’t even sell better than war stories!
We love the drama of human life in real time.
So what did the Lord talk about? He spoke about our relationship with God and His world. He spoke about what to do and what not to do. He spoke about how to get the most out of living.
But more importantly, He revealed who God is and who we are.
His miracles were not to impress the crowd but to inform them: I know you. I love you. I am here with you. I can heal you.
The purpose of life is to love and be loved, not to survive today and die another day. The instinct to survive is just an impulse, a beat; but to love and sacrifice is the heart and steady heartbeat.
Hunting and gathering is what keeps the body in motion, but Love is what keeps us interested in going on.
Wherever the Lord went, he was accompanied by huge crowds and He did exactly what God would do: He gave them physical and spiritual food to feed the mind, the body and the soul.
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