What if you visited New York and seeing the Empire State Building for the first time, noticed that the top disappeared in some low clouds. Would you be willing go up, if asked to do so?
If you’re answer is yes, how would you know for sure that there’s a top to the building? Who knows what would happen–you could disappear in the clouds!
OK, most of us would say it’s reasonable to conclude that since the lower floors are functioning, there’s a functional top floor, too. And this is just how Jesus calls us to faith in John 6 in his discourse on the Bread of Life. (We’ve been reading this at daily Mass this week.)
Faith in the Bread of Life
Jesus says he is the bread of life, but most of the people don’t see how this can be. It’s like the top of the building is in the clouds. So they say, “Give us a sign!”
But here’s the thing: he already has given them a sign and proved himself trustworthy. These are the same people who saw him feed five thousand from the miracle of the two loaves. It’s because of that miracle that they followed him across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where spoke of the bread of life.
The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is like the bottom floor of the building. If they listen and follow, Jesus will continue to show his power just as he did before, only raising them higher (above the clouds) with better food.
Faith in our own lives
This is how God builds faith in our lives, beginning with his mark on creation, and then with those aspects of Scripture that are easier to understand and receive. We build from here and find Jesus faithful to his word. From what we already know, it’s reasonable to believe in what we can’t see.
Would you jump from the top of a building into a net you don’t see? Not me. But God doesn’t deal with us that way. He doesn’t ask us to take a leap into the clouds. In him, we climb safely. We see the ground floor, so we trust there’s a top floor, too.
This is how faith works. If you don’t want to go to the top of the Empire State Building, then just admit it. But don’t try to tell me that the top isn’t there.