Prioritizing the spiritual

Saturday, February 08, 2020
4th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1 Kgs 3:4-13
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
The apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Go off by yourselves to a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves. But people saw them leaving and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began a long teaching session with them.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
According to Abraham Maslow, there are 5 different levels of human need, strictly in the following order: Physiological (such as food, clothing and shelter), Safety, Social needs, Esteem and Self-Actualization. Maslow assumes that one cannot climb to the higher levels without first satisfying the lower. This theory will help us examine the motive of those people who kept following Jesus and will help us understand why Jesus’ message hardly penetrated their hearts.
When Jesus and his disciples one day found the chance to escape to a lonely place, people pursued them and even got to there ahead of them. Why the obsession to be with Jesus? Did those people follow Jesus because of his teachings? If so, where were they when Jesus was condemned to death?
This question requires an analysis of their motive. Jesus himself had his own suspicions. He said, “You are looking for me because you ate the bread and you were satisfied” (John 6:32-33). This is what Maslow’s theory is all about. Where physiological needs are not yet addressed the person finds no interest yet in higher aspirations.
Jesus, however, had a different theory. He believed that people in physiological need are capable of embracing higher things. Thus in today’s Gospel reading he gave a long teaching session to people who kept following him instead of turning all stones into bread for them. In another Gospel passage he said, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:1-4).
Is Maslow’s theory to be discarded in light of today’s Gospel? The point of this Gospel reflection is not to disprove Maslow but to put his theory in proper perspective. Where faith is strong, one can actually start at the top of Maslow’s ladder to satisfy all needs. If this were not so, Jesus would not have said, “Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all the rest will fall in line”. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.