When this wretched virus is done, I will be content.
If I made five dollars more per hour, I will be satisfied.
If my illness is healed, I will be strong.
“Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” -John 14:8
In my time of prayer this morning, the above verse came to mind, I think, because of the insatiable desire of the human heart. There is something in our very nature that our nature cannot fully satiate. It seems we are always looking for more.
The word ‘satisfied’ is from the Greek word arkeo, which means, “to be possessed with unfailing strength; to be strong; to be content; to be satisfied.”
This word is only used twice in John’s Gospel. In the verse we are discussing and in chapter 6 verse 7, during the feeding of the five thousand, when Philip recognizes the minuscule amount of fish and bread is not sufficient to satisfy the needs of the five thousand. But, as we know, God provides in overflowing abundance and everyone was satisfied.
Let’s be honest, when COVID-19 is done we will be happy that it’s done. That’s good and sensible. It’s been a long 14 months. Here in Nova Scotia we are in the thick of things unlike anything we have experienced throughout this pandemic. It's deeply unsettling. It's frightening. So, of course we will be happy when Covid is done. Throw a party if you want; invite your friends over; have a grand time. This is good.
But let’s not kid ourselves. Within a period of time – an astonishingly short period of time – we will likely fall back in the same old routine and the same old sources of malcontent that we dealt with before the pandemic. We will not be truly satisfied.
Jesus knows this human tendency, of course, and he wants to show us how to break the cycle. He wants to show us how to be truly satisfied. We can search for God in a myriad of ways in the outside world to find contentment and satisfaction but we must confront the reality that the otherness of God comes with a deep personal interiority. God is with us. God is within us.
The Good News is that Jesus came to satiate our otherwise insatiable desires. But how do we do that? Jesus points to himself.
To help us deepen in this truth, I want to suggest one idea. Each day throughout the month of May, make note of a word or a phase that comes to mind. It could be from the daily mass readings or from the mass itself. Write the word down. That evening, before you go to bed, just sit with that word and think about it, pray with it. Ask God to help you understand why that word came to mind. Do the same thing the next day, it could be a new word or you may not be done with the previous one. At the end of the month, review the words for the month. What does this reveal about how God is working to satiate you deepest longings?
Remember, God is with you. God is within you.
It’s not so much, when this wretched virus is done I will be content, so much as it is finding contentment in the midst of this wretched virus. Ask God for this grace of being satisfied. Ask God for this grace of contentment.
Come unto me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
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