The One Who Feeds the Soul

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:21 am Post subject: The One Who Feeds the Soul

The One Who Feeds the Soul

Scripture:

And you shall remember all the way through which the Lord your God has brought you for forty years through the desert, to afflict you and to prove you, and that the things that were known in your heart might be made known, whether you would keep his commandments or no. He afflicted you with want, and gave you manna for your food, which neither you nor your fathers knew: to show that not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Your heart be lifted up, and you remember not the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: And was you leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas, and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out of the hardest rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers knew not. And after he had afflicted and proved you, at the last he had mercy on you. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16)

The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? For we, being many, are one bread, one body: all that partake of one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me: and I in him. As the living Father has sent me and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eats this bread shall live for ever. ( John 6:51-58 )

Reflection:

It is in times of tribulation that we discover our strengths and weaknesses. In the face of every challenge, we choose how to respond, whether it be in fortitude or timidity, with hope or despair, with inspiration or discouragement, with the will to drive on or no will at all. We are tempted to believe, in perhaps the worst moments, that what we face, we must face alone. We may feel abandoned; that there is no help or escape from our misfortune. In the moments of our greatest darkness, we often fail to see the light which God seeks to shine within us.

So it was for the people in the desert. They were freed from their slavery, but they wondered, what good was their freedom if they were only to die of thirst and hunger in a place which was hostile to them in every way? They sought their sustenance from the world for they did not comprehend the One who looked after them and walked with them during each moment of their test.

Perhaps it is confusing to us, for we have our responsibilities, but it is not possible for us to face or influence the world alone. We have heard the stories of those who have stood up against adversity, but no sovereign of peoples, no warrior, no one has won every battle alone. It is for this reason God walks with us. It is for this reason He has given us one another, each with gifts, that should we choose to share, will enable us to do far more together than in the moments we attempt to face down evil alone.

Our struggle within this world is temporary. Our years here are numbered. The question we must have, then, is what will become of us for eternity? Who will sustain us beyond the grave? The answer is not in the bread of the earth, but the bread and water from heaven; the body and blood sent by God to become the eternal food of the soul and spirit; the food of salvation.

All before us is a mystery, for we understand that without food and water, our body shall die, but do we comprehend that which sustains our soul? Even with an abundance of food and drink, the day will come where our body shall succumb to the world and return to the dust from whence it came. This is the fight of which we are concerned, the fight to continue to walk this earth, but it is only the challenge of the moment. Our real question should be, what will sustain us beyond this temporary space? What is our eternal sustenance? The answer is found in the One sent for our salvation.

All we are and all our blessings are gifts of God. What comes of these gifts, our Creator has left to our choice. It is we who decide whether we share or waste what He has placed within us. It is we who decide the nature of what we yield; whether what comes from us serves God or evil.

He has given us life within this world so that we might prepare for the day our Heavenly Father shall gather us in. It will be our choices which shall determine what happens in that moment; whether we follow His only begotten Son to where love is shared by all or whether we choose to reside in the darkness where love is absent.

Our life is not possible without the One who created life and breathed it into us, nor does life have any meaning without the One who gave us our purpose, a purpose we experience as we engage our Creator and one another according to His commandments. (Matthew 22:36-40) We live within a vessel of flesh and we nourish this flesh with what is found within the world, but we are more than flesh. The fullness of our existence is found within our soul and spirit, which are destined for a place beyond this world. If the flesh is destined to pass away, we then should ask, what will sustain our soul and spirit beyond the flesh? Again, the answer is found in the One who was sent for our salvation.

Jesus said to the people, ?Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.? (John 6:27) The food of eternal life, then, is the Eucharist, the body and blood of the only begotten Son of God. This is the food of eternal sustenance which He promises to all who believe in Him. (John 3:16-18, 6:47-51)

Let us, then, seek this food. Let us nourish our spirit and soul with the food of eternal life. Let us allow Him to take our hand and guide us through every trial and tribulation. Let us allow Him to lead us and sustain us on the path to His kingdom. Let us lift up in prayer our thanks and praise for the salvation and eternal sustenance which we may only receive through the only begotten Son of God.

Questions for further reflection:

What is the desert in which we walk and where do we seek to go?

What allows us to be part of the body of Christ?

What is and where may we find the food which sustains our soul?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier