One Big Lesson From Demanding Vultures Children

These kids.

They eat constantly. There are those days where I just can't come up with another snack, and yet they keep coming back. Breakfast, lunch, dinner - back. Morning, afternoon, and evening snacks - back. They don't come quietly either. These children of mine make sure I know they are hungry and demand their fill. If I'm being completely honest, their hunger is exponentially greater when they see food in my hand. I'm fairly certain they believe my meal is their meal. Vultures.

As I was driving home today thinking about what I could possibly feed the family for yet another meal, because as I said, they expect to be fed and just show up demanding food, this thought hit me. Jesus is the bread of life. He is the bread. The food. The nourishment. Of . . . LIFE. 

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35

All this time I am trying to figure out how to get more out of life, and the answer is in front of my face all along. Jesus. The Bread of Life. 

For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33

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There lies my renewal. There lies the sustenance I seek. The Bread of Life. The Eucharist. Literally, the Thanksgiving. Jesus offers Himself for us every day of the week, every week of the year, waiting to feed us. The Church exists to FEED us. It isn't there to affirm our righteousness. It isn't there to provide us programming or opportunities to make ourselves feel better. It exists to bring us Jesus in the flesh. The Church waits for us every day to come and be fed that we might be given life. Abundant life. THAT is what Jesus wants to give us if only we come to Him and receive. 

In the little part of the homily I heard this weekend, Father Sal was talking about how we tend to come to the Church with a consumer mentality. We look at her as a place to get what we want, when we want, how we want. Father urged us to remember that we are not consumers. We are the children of God, and we approach Him as a child approaches a parent. We do not come to buy, but we come to praise and give thanks. We come to the Eucharist. Thanksgiving. 

If we take a note from my kids, we will come to eat and come loudly. Instead of making excuses for not making it to dinner, we will be racing to the table demanding to be fed. Maybe we will sneak into the kitchen just to see what is being prepared. Maybe we won't sit still because we are just too excited. Maybe we will want to talk through the whole meal because we want to share our lives and hearts with one another. Maybe we will fight a little because we think the other is getting fed first. 

No matter how we slice it, our demanding "feed us now or reap the consequences" children teach us an important lesson. Come to Jesus hungry and expect to be fed. It will fill us with abundant life. I hope I remember this the next time my sweet little vultures are begging for food or sneaking morsels off my plate.

How often do you get to Mass to be fed? Do children or work responsibilities keep you away? Have you found a secret to fitting the Eucharist into your week amidst the other duties of life? Please let me know in the comments - I would love to know how you do it! After all, if we are gonna get out there and love 'em like Jesus, we need to become what we eat!

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