Ocean Silence
GOSPEL Lk 9:11b–17, Corpus Christi-061922
God Provides
In our Gospel from Luke, we learned about the familiar multiplication of the loaves and fishes that fed over five thousand. Before this particular story begins, we read about how the twelve disciples where sent out by Jesus to preach in the surrounding villages. Jesus tells them “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics.” Our Jesus is asking them to rely on their faith in him, to walk empty handed into the mystery of the new ministry without him their teacher-who has been doing this all along. They have just returned to Jesus…they are tired and worn. They have successfully completed what Jesus has asked them to do-and have learned-God provides.
Jesus invites them to leave the city…maybe for some quiet, rest and relaxation, but a massive crowd follows them into a deserted place. The disciples must be thinking how inconvenient. Rather then decompressing with his disciples and out of necessity, Jesus spends his day ministering to the crowd and preaching about the kingdom of God. What must be going through the disciples minds?
As the day turns into evening, the disciples tell Jesus to send the crowd away because it is late and they and the crowds are tired and hungry.
Jesus responds to his the disciples “Give them some food yourselves.” They reply, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” It appears that they are whining! (The logistics of this moment, calls to my mind what I know we go through feeding and entertaining 150 plus bingo players every other week.)
Jesus gives them not just a teaching moment but a transformative reality. God provides! Jesus maybe satisfying the physical and spiritual hunger of the larger crowds, but more importantly HE is revealing to his disciples a deeper truth…how to do it. What he is asking of his inner circle is to trust God, even when it feels absurd and impossible.
In being a witness to this miracle, their faith in Jesus increased. In the future, they will link this important event with the last supper where the Eucharist is instituted. In the Gospel of John-chapter 6, we read Jesus saying “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.”
Today, we have many who critique us and our belief in the Eucharist being the actual body and blood of Christ. Whether it be the culture that surrounds us, other Christian denominations or direct family members, we are still here every Sunday to receive the Eucharist. It is not just a symbol as they would like us to believe. Jesus is the bread of life that comes from heaven. He feeds us with this bread. If this bread is not the source and center of all that we do in ministry, we are missing the spiritual food that is necessary to sustain us. It is out of this sacred meal, that Jesus feeds us and strengthen us to do HIS will. The Eucharist binds and unifies us as the Body of Christ.
We are also disciples, in modern terms, it means we accept Jesus as our leader, and we assist HIM in spreading the Good News. Being a disciple of Jesus means the ministry and work is never done. The world needs what we the body of Christ offers. Even when we have doubts and discouragement, we must never forget, God provides.
Jesus is always teaching and forming us-especially in our liturgical worship.
We participate fully in this work when we offer up our hearts, which includes our hopes, joys, pains and sorrow. The 12 disciples, with all their conflicted feelings, leaned into this teaching moment, and participated fully in it. “He must increase and I must decrease.” Not my will, but your will be done!
We are transformed when we receive the Christ in the Mass. We become what we eat. The work of Jesus Christ gets multiplied in us as we carry him out into a spiritually starving world. The crowds that surrounds us are depending on us…just remember God provides.
Ocean Silence
GOSPEL Lk 9:11b–17, Corpus Christi-061922
God Provides
In our Gospel from Luke, we learned about the familiar multiplication of the loaves and fishes that fed over five thousand. Before this particular story begins, we read about how the twelve disciples where sent out by Jesus to preach in the surrounding villages. Jesus tells them “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics.” Our Jesus is asking them to rely on their faith in him, to walk empty handed into the mystery of the new ministry without him their teacher-who has been doing this all along. They have just returned to Jesus…they are tired and worn. They have successfully completed what Jesus has asked them to do-and have learned-God provides.
Jesus invites them to leave the city…maybe for some quiet, rest and relaxation, but a massive crowd follows them into a deserted place. The disciples must be thinking how inconvenient. Rather then decompressing with his disciples and out of necessity, Jesus spends his day ministering to the crowd and preaching about the kingdom of God. What must be going through the disciples minds?
As the day turns into evening, the disciples tell Jesus to send the crowd away because it is late and they and the crowds are tired and hungry.
Jesus responds to his the disciples “Give them some food yourselves.” They reply, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” It appears that they are whining! (The logistics of this moment, calls to my mind what I know we go through feeding and entertaining 150 plus bingo players every other week.)
Jesus gives them not just a teaching moment but a transformative reality. God provides! Jesus maybe satisfying the physical and spiritual hunger of the larger crowds, but more importantly HE is revealing to his disciples a deeper truth…how to do it. What he is asking of his inner circle is to trust God, even when it feels absurd and impossible.
In being a witness to this miracle, their faith in Jesus increased. In the future, they will link this important event with the last supper where the Eucharist is instituted. In the Gospel of John-chapter 6, we read Jesus saying “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.”
Today, we have many who critique us and our belief in the Eucharist being the actual body and blood of Christ. Whether it be the culture that surrounds us, other Christian denominations or direct family members, we are still here every Sunday to receive the Eucharist. It is not just a symbol as they would like us to believe. Jesus is the bread of life that comes from heaven. He feeds us with this bread. If this bread is not the source and center of all that we do in ministry, we are missing the spiritual food that is necessary to sustain us. It is out of this sacred meal, that Jesus feeds us and strengthen us to do HIS will. The Eucharist binds and unifies us as the Body of Christ.
We are also disciples, in modern terms, it means we accept Jesus as our leader, and we assist HIM in spreading the Good News. Being a disciple of Jesus means the ministry and work is never done. The world needs what we the body of Christ offers. Even when we have doubts and discouragement, we must never forget, God provides.
Jesus is always teaching and forming us-especially in our liturgical worship.
We participate fully in this work when we offer up our hearts, which includes our hopes, joys, pains and sorrow. The 12 disciples, with all their conflicted feelings, leaned into this teaching moment, and participated fully in it. “He must increase and I must decrease.” Not my will, but your will be done!
We are transformed when we receive the Christ in the Mass. We become what we eat. The work of Jesus Christ gets multiplied in us as we carry him out into a spiritually starving world. The crowds that surrounds us are depending on us…just remember God provides.