Daily Reflection Monday of the Third Week of Easter

“God offers us treasure but we settle for trinkets.” This wise statement is attributed to Meister Eckhart, the thirteenth century mystic. God offers us an abundance yet we settle for so little. Today we might say, “God offers us a banquet but we settle for Burger King.”



Jesus says, “Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” All this week we will be reading from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This chapter is referred to as “The Eucharistic Discourse.” Here we read of St. John’s theology of the Eucharist. It is interesting to note that, in this gospel, there is a but a brief mention of the Last Supper with nothing said of the disciples sharing the bread and wine. Instead John focuses on Jesus washing the feet of the disciples (John 13: 1-9).



It is in the sixth chapter where the Lord refers to himself as the “Bread of Life.” The chapter begins with the feeding of the crowd, more than five thousand people, with just five loaves of bread. While the crowd was impressed and grateful for this miraculous feeding, Jesus encouraged his followers to seek “the food that endures for eternal life.” This food is the offering of his body and blood.



It is the meal which we savor every day in the Eucharist as we pray, “Give us today our daily bread.” For today we might name a particular and personal hunger, and ask for the Lord’s nourishment.