Bread and Circuses

Seeking to satisfy our deeper needs in Jesus

04/18/2018

John 6:35-40 Jesus said to the crowds, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day."

I am not a fan of the wildly popular movie trilogy “Hunger Games.” But I changed my mind about the movie when I learned that the country where the story takes place was called “Panem.” I was hooked. Why? Panem is a Latin word that means “bread.” But it was originally part of a longer phrase coined by the Roman poet Juvenal in the second century, when he wrote: “panem et circenses,” which literally means “bread and circuses.” In ancient Rome (when Juvenal lived), as the empire was eroding due to corruption, greed, gluttony and sex, those in power kept the populace happy by giving them bread and circuses, panem et circenses. When you look a little deeper at the plot of the movie Hunger Games, you’ll discover that’s what’s really going on in the fictional country of Panem: a corrupt government keeps people happy with bread and circuses. Katniss Everdeen and her friends are sort of “living bread” (panem) being sacrificed to entertain (circenses) the masses, the crowds.

But there is one hunger in the human heart that no government can satisfy, namely, love. No matter how much bread and how many circuses you throw at people, they still hunger for love, for friendship, for living and even dying for someone else. That greater truth about love allowed Katniss to defeat the Hunger Games and even bring down the government of Panem. People need more than bread and circuses; above all, they need love.

Today’s gospel is taken from the smack dab middle of John chapter 6, the great story of the multiplication of the loaves and feeding of the five thousand. After the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, do you remember what the people wanted to do to Jesus? They were ready to crown him king of Israel. Why? The people were clamoring, like the ancient Romans and the people of Panem: just give us more bread and circuses (more miracles), and we will be satisfied! But Jesus knew well the deeper hunger in the human heart, the hunger for love. And so he says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Then he taught them about the Eucharist: eating his Body and drinking his Blood in Holy Communion. Jesus didn’t want to play “hunger games” with the people by pretending all they needed was more bread and circuses. He wanted to satisfy their greatest need for love and friendship by being their true Bread. Life is more than “panem et circenses.”

Boys and girls, what are you hungry for? Everyone’s mouth starts watering when it’s Chick-fil-A day for lunch. I am afraid some students might sell their souls for a Sonic drink, like Tommy Johnson in the movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou.” Do you remember the African American man who sold his soul to the devil to learn to play the guitar? He explained to Delmar why he sold his soul saying, “I wasn’t using it.” Others don’t want “panem,” they want “circenses,” entertainment like modern day video games. Have you ever been so engrossed in a video game that you didn’t even want to eat or drink or sleep or even go to the bathroom? I sometimes worry that our great nation resembles more and more the people of Panem and the Republic of Rome, where people were content with “bread and circuses,” only satisfying their bodily and baser instincts.

But boys and girls, you have a deeper need than just to play hunger games – than to satisfy your hunger and play video games. That is the reason we celebrate Mass every week here at Trinity, as a reminder that Jesus alone is the Bread that satisfies us.  Each one of us has a need for love and friendship, and ultimately, a need for God’s love. That need is also a seed, a seed of greatness, that when it sprouts can grow into something larger than life. To love means to live for something bigger than yourself, to live for more than bread and circuses. That’s how Katniss Everdeen defeated the Hunger Games. And that’s how you and I will defeat the hunger games we play every day.

Praised be Jesus Christ!