18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2024

 

 “You’re not you when you’re hungry!”

Many of us have seen the Snickers commercials featuring the late Robin Williams. In these ads, Robin Williams plays the part of a football coach who is acting erratically and irrationally because he is hungry. It’s only after taking a bite of a Snickers bar that he returns to his normal, calm self.

The slogan is memorable: “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

This clever commercial taps into a truth we all recognize: hunger can drastically change our mood and behavior. Today’s readings highlight a similar truth, but on a much deeper level, about our spiritual hunger and God’s care for us.

In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear about the Israelites grumbling against Moses and Aaron, lamenting their hunger in the desert.

They complain that they would have been better off dying in Egypt, where at least they had food, than starving in the desert. Their physical hunger made them forget the miraculous deliverance God had just accomplished for them.

But God, in His infinite mercy, responds to their needs. He promises to rain down bread from heaven, providing manna to sustain them.

This provision was not only about satisfying their physical hunger but also a test of their faith and obedience. The Israelites needed to trust that God would provide for their daily needs.

The Responsorial Psalm celebrates this miracle, acknowledging that the Lord “rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.”

This bread from heaven was a sign of God’s constant care and faithfulness, something we are called to remember and proclaim to future generations.

In the second reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul urges us to put away our old selves, corrupted by deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.

This renewal aligns with our deeper hunger — a hunger for truth, purpose, and a relationship with God. Paul reminds us that our true identity is found in living according to God’s way, in righteousness and holiness.

Finally, in the Gospel of John, we see the crowd seeking Jesus after He miraculously fed the five thousand. Jesus challenges their motives, telling them not to work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.

He declares, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Jesus offers Himself as the true bread from heaven, the only one who can satisfy our deepest spiritual hunger.

These readings remind us that while our physical needs are important and God is attentive to them, there is a more profound hunger within us — a hunger for God’s presence, His truth, and His love.

The Israelites’ journey in the desert teaches us that God is always with us, providing for our needs even when we doubt or struggle. The manna from heaven was a foretaste of the true bread of life, Jesus Christ, who comes down from heaven to give life to the world.

What are we truly hungry for? Are we seeking fulfillment in things that perish, or are we seeking the eternal nourishment that only Christ can provide?

Jesus calls us to believe in Him, to trust in His provision, and to allow Him to transform our lives from within.

In the Eucharist, we encounter the living bread that has come down from heaven. Every time we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we are nourished and strengthened for our journey of faith.

That commercial was right: “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

Whether it’s physical hunger making us irritable or spiritual hunger leading us to grumble and doubt, let us turn to God, the source of all nourishment, and allow Him to fill us with His life-giving bread.

Let us approach the altar today with hearts open to receive the true bread of life, trusting that in Jesus, our deepest hungers will be satisfied.

Amen.