A Spirit of Contentment and a Heart of Gratitude! (HOMILY FOR THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B (AUGUST 04, 2024)
HOMILY FOR THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B (AUGUST 04, 2024) Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps.78; Eph.4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35 _Do not labour for the food which perishes..._ (John 6:27a) A Spirit of Contentment and a Heart of Gratitude! After the incident of the multiplication of loaves in the gospel reading of last Sunday, Jesus had to withdraw from the crowd who were wanting to forcefully crown him king. This means that the people perceived greatest in Jesus. In the gospel reading of today, the same crowd took out time to seek out Jesus; the miracle of the multiplication was just too amazing to let Jesus go like that. We may want to interpret the people’s reaction as gratitude, but it wasn’t. It is shocking to discover that the people were rather selfish than grateful. They wanted Jesus to be their king so that it becomes his legal responsibility to always miraculously provide them with loaves. In that case, Divine Provision will no longer be a gift but a right. Jesus clearl