Signs along the way

Over the years I had the privilege to travel quite a bit around the world. Suffice it to say that so far I have flown almost two hundred thousand miles, and thousands of miles on cars, bus, trains, buggies, and even on horseback!

As you may gather, travel is always an educational experience. One learns about people, languages, and cultures. And, of course, once you get out of the airport or train station, you begin to learn about driving and drivers, and their attitude toward the many signs that are posted along the way.

As you drive on or as one is driven about - or if one has taken a driving test - one becomes aware of signs. Yield; Stop; Do not turn; Wrong Way; Right turn only, and so forth. Signs are there to guide our way.

But other than the power of persuasion, the fear of a ticket, good citizenship, or a sense of the common good, on their own, signs do not have power to change our behavior. A sign may say “STOP,” and we may chose not to stop, and in doing so, risking the consequences. There are many good reasons why we should obey the signs. Indeed, life would be a lot better all over the world if we all decided to follow road signs. But still, it is up to us what we do with the signs we find all around us.

The Gospel today is about one of the many signs that Jesus posted on his journey, and what we would make out of such sign. We shouldn’t be surprised about posted signs, for Jesus was not only an itinerant teacher but also, He was described as being “The Way.” Some of the signs that Jesus posted were clearly described as such, but in general, I think I am on solid ground if I were to say that most of what Jesus did was a sign pointing way beyond the obvious.

Today’s Gospel offers us a chance to look at one of those signs. The Master is in one of his teaching and healing journeys and, eventually, as the day is getting late the issue of feeding the crowd is raised. Jesus asks the disciples to take care of the issue which, needless to say, they thought they were not able to address.

So Jesus ask them to check what they had and in the end, they produce some loaves of bread and some fish. Jesus blesses the bread, breaks it and order his disciples to share it with the crowd. Eventually, it seems that they all had their fill.

But the story does not end right there. In the Gospel of John we get a glimpse of the aftermath. In John, we are told that the next day, after Jesus had left town, multitudes went after him and, when asked, they answer, “Yes, we saw the sign. You multiplied the bread and the fish. That’s why we are here. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here.”

“Yeah, you saw the sign,” Jesus says. “But you are here looking for food, and thus, you are missing the point!” See, He tells them, I am here to give you more than bread that fills the body… I am here to give you something even more precious, the Bread of Heaven! “You missed the sign!” Sign? What sign?

Well, in fact it was not that they missed the sign altogether. They noticed it. However they’ve got stuck on the sign itself, and not the true meaning of the sign. They read the signs only at one level. Water. Wine. Food. Bread. Dried fish. And once they were satisfied, they never stop to wonder if behind these powerful actions God had in mind something more substantial than water, bread or a sardine.

Now, granted, sometimes it was not easy to discern the sign. Sometimes even his family or his closest friends didn’t get it. Even after two thousand years of Church, we still don’t get it. Some people thing about God as someone who is ready to rain down on the innocent plagues, death, and destruction and yet forget the sign of the Cross – God does not want the death of the sinner but that the sinner repents and live.

In fact, divine signs never point to the obvious – the issue of the day or the human need of the moment – but point to our souls challenging us to deal with the fact that we are just a little bit more than DNA dressed up as a human being. Divine signs point to a far deeper need than the most basic human needs. Divine signs challenge us to look beyond our more basic human needs and ponder, “Is there anything else beyond DNA and complex chemistry?”

 Divine signs invite us to explore beyond the limits of our bodies, and even beyond our own souls in search of He who created us, and redeemed us in Jesus, the Holy One who said “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Divine signs invite us to consider the hidden abundance that it is in us and in our midst. Jacob’s life, really not something to write home is transformed into Israel. It is a sign. The Transfiguration, which we will celebrate next Thursday, is another sign. The story of the people of Israel, as recalled by St Paul, all point to the fact that that there are no limits to what we can offer God.

Jacob, the schemer and spin doctor, wrestles with the angel. Shockingly, he is willing to put his life on the line, and if you look to his life you may wonder, “How he dared?” In doing so he points out that for God, no one should consider his or her life a bid to low to place on the table.

As St Paul’s writes in our second lesson, the people of Israel, cantankerous and rebellious as they were and continue to be were the channel through which God brought Jesus Christ’s grace, love and mercy to the world (cf. Romans 9:4-5).

Jesus, the Holy One, He who blots away the sin of the world with his own blood, is transfigured. Even in Jesus, the one beyond reproach, still there was room for something else. Be it little or be it much, whatever we offer God, our Lord will find a way to kick it up a notch.

In a few minutes I will take a piece of bread and I will say to you, “This is the Body of Christ.” And I will raise the cup and I will say, “This is the Blood of Christ.” It is a Sacrament, that is to say, it is a sign – a marker – pointing well beyond our human limitations.

Yet, as in the gospel story, people sometimes get bog down on the nature of the sign. Since the early church there have been theologians and plain folks arguing about the bread and wine. Regular bread or unleavened bread? Wine, or should it be grape juice? Are they still bread and wine? What has changed in them? How do we receive the bread and wine? Or only bread? Do we need to fast to receive them? Do we need to revere them or worship them? Can anyone say the words of institution or has to be a priest? Why not a deacon or a lay person? A male but not a female?

Stop for a moment thinking about the sign, and think -- What the sign says? Where is the sign pointing to?

St Augustine famously wrote, “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in you.” Let me suggest that the sign of the Bread and Wine, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ points both to the deeply felt uneasiness in our souls and to the One that can bring solace and peace to our hearts.

The sign of the Bread and Wine, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ points to the richness and abundance that it is in us who plant, harvest, mill, and prepare the bread which we have offered to be transformed into the Bread of Life.

Whatever you are going through, whatever your state of life is, whatever your experiences, pains, doubts and even disappointments, all are acceptable to God. Never mind if you feel you are not up to par. The Bread and Wine, the Body and Blood of Christ are signs pointing to the power of God to transform, heal, feed, and bring new life, grace, and peace out of a dirty grain of wheat.

Watch up for one of the most important signs you may find in your journey. It reads, “It is never up to God. It is always up to you.”