«Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled» (John 6:26).
Today’ s reflection does not have the intention of criticizing or humiliating anyone, but rather, of making us think a little about what motivates us to act. For this, I am going to use an example that will surely be very familiar. One time, a renowned preacher came to my church to do a special week of evangelism. He was accompanied by a well-known quartet. At the end of each night’s meeting, there was a long line of people who wanted to take pictures with them, and hours later, the social media exploded with these photos that added hundreds of Likes.
There was nothing wrong with taking a picture. What struck me were the criticisms of these same «celebrities.» I wondered if any of the people had approached them to pray for their ministry, to ask them questions and to really know them, to learn about their tastes, to hear their testimonies of conversion, and so on. We are in danger of getting out of focus. There are certain people who inevitably become more popular because of their constant exposure to the crowds or the positions they hold, but they need our prayers and our support more than a moment of shared fame.
On their long tours, separated from their families, they are often overloaded by that extra effort that seems to be imposed on them in order to connect with the public, and it may be easier to fall into vanity, if any are prone to it. We can propose being more understanding, less selfish, fairer, and less worldly in our interactions with them.
That day, the people also went up to Jesus for the wrong reasons. They did not really want Him; they did not want to know Him, to learn about His tastes or about the kingdom He wanted to establish. He was the person of the moment, the multiplier of loaves, and no one wanted to miss that moment of “fame.”
To know it and accept it, we must also give up our ambitions that are often unnecessary. Let us pray that He will help us today to seek Him and accept Him genuinely, love Him for who He is, and for His true plans.
