Every living creature seeks to assuage the hunger instinct. Humans, in addition, seek shelter and clothing. Birds, rabbits, and a few other creatures seek shelter as well, but have no interest in clothing. Several other animal species spend entire life doing nothing but search for food and drink. For example, the migration of the Manx Shearwater birds before winter from their north breeding grounds to the south, as far as Hawaii—a distance covering nearly 8,700 miles—is driven particularly by availability of food. But it’s not only food for which we hunger; we also hunger for peace, justice, safety, friendship, intimacy and love. Above all, we hunger for meaning, direction and purposeful existence.
Maslow was nearly correct in identifying a hierarchy of needs on which his theory of human motivation is based. He placed self-actualization at the top of the chain. He would in later years self-critique his theory, elevating self-actualization to mean a search for some higher goal outside the self, in altruism and spirituality. By doing so, Maslow recognized another type of hunger to which the human person cannot play gotcha: the hunger for transcendence, the hunger for God. We do not have any choice about this. Whether one is a card-carrying atheist or a pious believer, humans are hard-wired for transcendence. God put a hunger in us that only He can satisfy. And to assist in satisfying this hunger, God progressively gives His people bodily food, then food for the mind, and finally the spiritual food of His own life. Corpus Christi celebrates this gift that God gave of Himself. It took a step by step approach:
1), Hunger drove the Israelites to Egypt. 2), After a prolonged stay, food no longer satisfied; the hunger for freedom outpaced that for food. 3), No sooner had they found freedom than the hunger for food made its way back; and in answer, God gave them the Manna. 4), They still hungered for a homeland in which they will dwell in peace, safety, and security, especially from the desert serpents and scorpions as well as attacks from other nations. 5), Possessing this homeland demanded even more tenacity, hence, they continually fought to keep it from their foes. 6), An eternal homeland is sought.
Today, Jesus draws our attention to how fleeting earthly solutions are, and invites us to partake of the food that will truly satisfy: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, ...Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall not thirst” (Jn 6: 51; 6:35). In the world, we are tormented by a plethora of deserts in the form of temptations, hunger and thirst, and opposition to God often as fierce as serpents and scorpions. By nourishing ourselves with the food of the Lord’s Body and Blood, we will escape the death, which not even the manna was able to prevent for Israel.
Consider also that in this food—the Eucharist—we do not only eat the Body and Blood of the Lord, we literally become one body with Him. St Paul alludes to this when he said: “The blessing cup we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body” (I Cor 10:17). In the Eucharist, we partake of the body of the Risen Lord, which unites us to an intimate and immortal life, love, and friendship with Him. If you need a “bet” or pledge for the life of heaven, the Eucharist is your best bet.
The feast of Corpus Christi evokes memories, solidifies us with the here and now gift of the Lord’s presence, and is a “bet” for future life with Him. We remember the giving of His Body as food for us at the Last Supper; a giving that was effected prior to the besmirching of His body by His foes. Thus, He fulfils His promise to remain with us as the Living Bread uncontaminated by even corporeal death and pointing to a future life with Him in eternity.
Fr. Chukwudi Jo Okonkwo