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The human heart is restless. We are always looking for ways to satisfy our cravings. Everywhere we go, we are looking for the answer to the question - what do I really want and how can I get it? There is nothing hungrier than the human heart.
Sometimes we get so close to finally grasping what our hearts desire. We find the person who loves us or the work that fulfills us. But, in time, we get disillusioned in our relationship or dissatisfied with our work. Typically it is because we wanted from that person more than he or she could give us. We expected more fulfillment from that job than it could possibly reward us with. Then that longing within us which we thought we finally had satisfied comes roaring back stronger than ever.
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If we continue to look only to this world and its goods, we will find nothing but frustration and disillusionment. But, if we welcome God into our hearts, if we make Him the center of our lives, our hearts will finally know peace. We will still enjoy all the good things in life, but they will not give us our ultimate sense of meaning and purpose. We will no longer look to them to provide us what they could not possibly give us. Instead, we will be grounded in our identity as beloved daughters and sons of God.
Jesus has a heart like ours, full of desires and longings. While He walked this earth, he cared about people and their needs. In today’s gospel, He looks out with compassion for the crowds. He sees the deep longing that compelled them to travel so far and even go without food to seek Him out. He alone could give them what they most needed - intimate contact with God. And He would not deprive them of it.
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We gather at every eucharistic celebration for the same reason as those crowds who came out to see Jesus two thousand years ago. We need God. We have hungry hearts, and we know that nothing and no one else can satisfy and heal us except Jesus Christ. In Jesus, our hearts can find the rest they long for so desperately.
So, no matter what condition your heart is in, no matter how far away from God you think you are, you can always turn to Him and be assured that He will welcome you. If He loved you enough to die for you, you can be sure that He loves you enough to not turn you away. You do not have to wait until you get your act together to reach out to Jesus. If that were the case, none of us could ever turn to Him. He welcomes you as you are, with all your wounds and shame. He wants to heal you and lead you to a place where you can finally have peace and joy.
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We have been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. At the heart of Jesus we discover that the love we have been searching for has actually been searching for us. It is time for us to stop running away from Him and run toward Him with total trust in His forgiveness and love for us. Then He can lead us to the place where our hearts will find rest.
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