RIGHT VISION AND CORRECT PATH
(18th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

There was a King. One day he gave his golden cane to his minister and said, “Travel all over my country, find the poorest of the poor and give him this golden cane as a support.” He started traveling from place to place, searching for the poorest man; however, he could not find any one who was really poor. Finally he gave up his mission and returned to the palace. By that time, the king had already developed a serious illness and was almost at the brink of his own death. Seeing the minister the King said, “My days are numbered…. I may die in a day or two…. I am afraid to die because I have earned nothing to carry with me when I pass from this life to the next.” The minister could not control his demeanor. He said to his King, “At last, I have found the poorest man in this country. You are that person I was searching for. You knew that you would die one day. Yet, you did not reserve anything for that day. You are the poorest man.”

Two things are important in our life: a clear vision of our destination and the right path to reach there.

St. Paul, in the Second reading (Ephesians 4:17,20-24), talks about the goal of life. He says, “Put on the New Self.” This new self, created in God’s Way, according to Paul is Jesus himself. The whole purpose of life is, therefore, to grow into the fullness of Jesus, who is life and resurrection. We put on the New Self at the time of our baptism. The growth towards Jesus is to be continued until we fully conform to the glorified Christ as revealed in the Transfiguration Event. Therefore, our Challenge is to continue our Journey of life focusing on the things above until we reach our final destination.

It does not mean that we must detach totally from the world. Daily bread is important. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. In fact, Jesus condemned the Idle Person as recorded in the parable of the Talents. As good stewards, we are responsible and accountable for our growth and as well as the growth of the world. By our labor we are called to enrich the world.” Problems arise when we make ‘manna’ the ultimate goal of our life. The story of manna underscores this point. God said, “Gather only your daily portion.” In other words God told them not to be distracted by “What they eat and drink”. God will provide the faithful with what they need. As we read in the first reading (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15), God sent manna and birds when He saw people were struggling in the desert for food. For God, there is no place as a desert and nothing is in short supply.

Jesus repeated the same message when People came to him looking for Bread. Jesus said, “Work for Food that endures for eternal life.”(John 6:1-15). This is important as we are wired to God. Because we are destined to God, compromising with anything less than God will never fulfill our ‘Thirst and Hunger’ for happiness. Jesus identifies himself with this food that satisfies eternal thirst and hunger. He said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus said the same in numerous ways. “I am the life and resurrection” and “I am the way, the truth and the life” are a few among those.

Finding Jesus in one’s life is our destination. Peter found Christ in his life. He said: “Master, where shall I go? You have the words of life.” Paul echoed the same feeling when he said: “For me life is Christ.” After a long search for truth, the Samaritan Women confessed, “I have found the Messiah.” Where do we find Jesus today? It is in the breaking of the bread, in the Eucharist…

The readings for the 18th Sunday invite us to continue our Journey fixing our eyes on the goal that is life in Jesus and working for the things that ensure our passage to everlasting life.