“Do not work for food that perishes…” I read this gospel now as a parent of young children who are always asking me for the direct reasons on why they have to do something. “I clean up so I can watch a show”, or “I eat things I do not like because I know they are good for my body”. As a parent, I am trying to shape my children beyond the direct and tangible, teaching them that we help others because that is what humans do – we help and we hope.
Working for food that has everlasting life is working towards hope. We hope for a greatness that is beyond one’s day-to-day. We parent in hopes that our children grow to be persons for and with others and we accompany others on this journey, creating a message and a space for hope.
I have been in education my entire professional career, accompanying youth on their journey, hopefully helping foster some hope along the way. As an educator, I am but one chapter or verse in another’s journey. I hope that I give space and time to reflect beyond their immediate needs and desires, to not only focus on the food that perishes but on a life that goes beyond the need of the now. I try to take this time for myself as I navigate the immediate (food that perishes) with the Holy.