Fidelity, Freedom, Bread

One

We read in the sixth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” This pivotal command comes after Jesus tells us not to worry, to consider the lilies of the field. But what exactly does Jesus mean? How can we ignore the pressing needs of our day while seeking a Kingdom that will not come in full until the end of time?

Perhaps in reflecting on this question, C.S. Lewis wrote: “if you seek first things first you will get first things and second things thrown in but if we seek second things first we will miss first things entirely and likely not even get very much of the second.”

In other words, we have to know the true value of things before we set about making decisions. If I seek that which is objectively worth—less, I will miss out on what really matters.

We are here today to spread the kingdom of God, to expand its borders into every human heart, and safeguard our ability to do so. We wish to be free to bring hearts to God. Our enemies are not other humans, and we cannot lose our heads in political battle, our war is spiritual. But our fight for freedom will be fruitless if we do not seek first things first: To build a Kingdom well, we must listen to the King.

Lord, am I listening? Am I attentive to you?

 Two

Christianity is often criticized by the world as wish fulfillment, a daydream for a better world, the “opiate for the masses” as Stalin claimed. Some say we Christians are naive and therefore dangerous, sapping the effort and resources of mankind without fixing any of the world’s problems. As I see it, this is the primary argument against religious liberty. All this freedoms stuff gets in the way of fixing the real problems. The world looks at Christ, and parroting the words of Satan in the Desert, they say “If you are the Christ, turn these stones in to bread. If you truly have the power of God, fix world hunger.” Pope Benedict, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, speaks about this very issue.

He writes:

“…Is there anything more tragic, is there anything more opposed to belief in the existence of a good God and Redeemer of mankind, than world hunger? Shouldn’t it be the first test of the Redeemer, before the world’s gaze and on the world’s behalf, to give it bread and to end all hunger? … Did not, and does not, the Redeemer of the world have to prove his credentials by feeding everyone? Isn’t the problem of feeding the world – and, more generally, are the social problems – the primary, true yardstick by which redemption has to be measured? Does someone who fails to measure up to this standard have any right to be called a redeemer? And should we not say the same to the Church? If you claim to be the Church of God, then start by making sure the world has bread – the rest comes later.”

This critique seems devasting and summarizes the unspoken claim of our secular world. Jesus, is it bread from heaven or bread from Wal-Mart we should seek?

Three

Pope Benedict is so insightful, I wish to quote him in full. He continues,

“It is hard to answer this challenge to first feed the world, precisely because the cry of the hungry penetrates so deeply into the ears and into the soul – as well it should... The bread motif pervades the entire Gospel and has to be looked at in its full scope.

There are … great narratives concerning bread in Jesus’ life. The first is the multiplication of loaves for the thousands who followed the Lord when he withdrew to a lonely place. Why does Christ now do the very thing he had rejected as a temptation before? The crowds had left everything in order to come hear God’s word. They are people who have opened their heart to God and to one another; they are therefore ready to receive the bread with the proper disposition. This miracle of the loaves has three aspects, then. It is preceded by a search for God, for his word, for the teaching that sets the whole of life on the right path. Furthermore, God is asked to supply the bread. Finally, readiness to share with one another is an essential element of the miracle. Listening to God becomes living with God, and leads from faith to love, to the discovery of the other. Jesus is not indifferent toward men’s hunger, their bodily needs, but he places these things in the proper context and the proper order.”

Benedict articulates the radical claim of Christianity. If we put things in the right order, all else will be given, and if need be, miraculously supplied.

If we listen to God, truly attempt to open our hearts to His message, whatever it may be; if we ask God, seek his assistance first and foremost; if we share what we receive, courageously trust that we will have enough when it is all done, then we will see the hunger of mankind being fed.

Four

If you seek first things first you will get first things and second things thrown in but if we seek second things first we will miss first things entirely and likely not even get very much of the second.”

Well where does religious freedom come in all of this?

A German priest by the name of Alfred Delp once said: “Bread is important, freedom is more important, but most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.”

For Fr. Alfred, these were not mere words. He gave up bread, freedom, and made the ultimate sacrifice to remain faithful. No one knows where Alfred’s remains are. The Nazis scattered his ashes over an unmarked sewage field near Berlin.

“Bread is important, freedom is more important, but most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.”  

We may or may not be called to share Fr. Delp’s martyrdom, but we are all called to follow his heroism. We must, and I am speaking foremost to myself, go about our lives as Christians willing to live for Christ alone, not for bread alone. Man does not live on bread alone, but on the very word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  Our blood is meant to refresh the world, weather it flows through our love or onto the ground, Christ is the priority. 

Five

Finally, Pope Benedict shares this, “If man’s heart is not good, then nothing else can turn out good, either. And the goodness of the human heart can ultimately come only from the One who is goodness, who is the Good itself.”

It’s a deep mystery as to why God created the world the way He did and didn’t leave evidence for Himself more obvious. We live in this world, where God is not always so tangible but who allows Himself to be found only when the heart sets out on the “exodus” from “Egypt.” “It is in  this world,” the Pope says, “that we are obliged to resist the delusions of false philosophies and to recognize that we do not live by bread alone, but first and foremost by obedience to God’s word. Only when this obedience is put into practice does the attitude develop that is also capable of providing bread for all.”

“Bread is important, freedom is more important, but most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.”