When Paul is on route to Rome in order to appear before Caesar, his ship sails into a terrible storm. It is so bad that the crew and passengers are unable to eat, for days. We’re not told why. Maybe they were too busy with the cares of the ship and the terror of the storm. Maybe the storm made it too difficult to find and serve the food. Regardless, they have gone 14 days without eating. Finally, Paul urges them to eat, and his reasoning is that they are going to survive the storm. God has assured Paul that they will all make it safely to shore, but that won’t be much good if they then starve to death on the beach, or if they are too weak to crawl away before the tide comes in.

The same exhortation can be applied here: You are storm-tossed and weary, at times much afflicted, but your God has guaranteed your survival. What does that mean? It means you have the promise–solid as the bedrock and unaltering as the firmament–of life abundant, life eternal. The storm may get really bad, the metaphorical ship might get smashed up, but your life is guaranteed.

And because you are a being headed for eternal life, because this world with all its absurd beauties and hilarious splendors is only the foyer of the Cosmos, because you have a great journey ahead of you, come and eat the food God has given you. Christ’s body is true food. His blood is true drink. Don’t worry too much about explaining the mystery, rather receive with joy the gift of God. Here are the promises of God made tangible. Here is strength and sustenance for your soul. You’ll need it; you have a long way to go.