Participate in the Miracle

 

~~~ Numbers 11:4b-15 ~~~ Psalm 81 ~~ Matthew 14:13-21~~~

 

 Moses is frustrated with the people, with God, and even with himself.
Why are the people constantly complaining about what they used to have...
'the good old days'. We can relate too that mind set
because we too think back to how things once were.
Moses is frustrated with God
thinking that somehow the people are grumbling
 because he has failed somewhere along the way.

Why are you so displeased with me?

And finally Moses is frustrated with himself.
I cannot carry all this people by myself,
for they are too heavy for me.

He is on the brink of despair...feeling hopeless...to the point
of asking God to kill him.
...please do me the favor of killing me at once...

God provided for his people...he saved them from peril time after time,
but none of that seemed to matter when it came to what they had to eat.

Consider how today's readings focus around the topic of food.

 

 

We have the well-known gospel of the loaves and fishes.
God alone can satisfy the hungry heart, but
when it comes to our stomachs it is different.

The huge crowd of five thousand men were hungry,
their stomachs were beginning to growl...they were feeling
weak from lack of food.  

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
The disciples were only able to gather up this small amount of food from the vast crowd.
Jesus never said go back to the people a ask again.
He simply took what they had to offer, blessed it, and served it to the crowd.

This miracle is reported by all four of the gospel writers
 with only slight variations.

That day Jesus satisfied their hearts and all five of their senses.
He fed their minds with his words.
He fed their hearts with his love and compassion.
He fed their bodies with five loaves and two fish.

He alone can fill all our human needs.
He reached the crowd through all five of their senses...
they could see him in the boat...the huge crowd surrounding them...
and only five loaves of bread and two fish.
No one but God would have attempted to feed the crowd that day
with only enough food for one family. 

 

 They could hear him teaching...his voice captivated them even though
they must have been hot tired and hungry.
They heard the blessing over the food.

They could smell each other in the crowd...the sea water...
but when the baskets of bread and fish came to them
they smelled food.

I have been inside my car passing a restaurant and smelled the food cooking.
The smell of food is part of the whole experience of eating.
When you have a cold your appetite diminishes when you cannot smell.

They touched the bread and fish knowing that Jesus had just blessed it.
As each person in the crowd took the bread and fish
 they participated in the miracle.
 

 Had they not been there to eat there would have been no need for the miracle.

They tasted this miracle with every morsel they put onto their tongue.
Their taste buds responded with satisfaction.
Their hunger was being satisfied with each bite.

 

 Every time we come to altar and receive the Eucharist
we participate in the miracle.

 

 The crowd was blessed in every way by Jesus that day,
just as we are in every Mass.

Blessings come in believing God satisfies all of our needs.
Receive the Eucharist often;
come participate in the great miracle of the consecration.

An Inventive Heart

~~~ Sirach 17:1-15 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Mark 10:13-16 ~~~

 

Today, Saturday, we have some beautiful verses from the book of Sirach.

Most people will not ever read this passage as it is a Saturday.

Often the Saturday readings are connected to Mary,

but today they are about how God created us...

as his children, in his image.

If we were able to create our children I am sure we would choose

to give them many good things.

We would give them perfect health, beauty, many talents,

we would want them to be a compassionate and loving person.

 

This is exactly what God does; he creates us with much of what he sees as good.

God creates us in a beautiful way, knowing he also gives us free will.

What will we do with all he has created in us?

 

At first reading this passage you might think you were reading Genesis.

There are certainly some similarities.

The author is making us aware of our wonderful relationship with our Creator God.

 

As we read about all that is within our being; we can see the love of God for us.

We can also face the fact that our days here on earth are numbered.

 

...He created for them counsel, and a tongue and eyes and ears,
and an inventive heart...

filled them with the discipline of understanding.
He created in them knowledge of the spirit;
With wisdom he fills their heart;
good and evil he shows them.
He put the fear of himself upon their hearts...

 

Can you imagine what your life would be like without your senses?

I have often reflected on which of my five senses I would be willing to delete.

Honestly I could not freely make that decision.

Perhaps it would be the sense of taste,

but that would take most of the pleasure from eating away.

Besides our senses God gives us our heart.

 

God gave us an 'inventive heart'.

He put inside of us a small piece of his vast creativity.

I am always amazed at the creativity of God along with his playfulness.

Just look at the many different birds he created.

Some birds are bright and colorful, their feathers are perfectly placed for ease of flight,

they even court one another with dances.

 

We have been given a share in this inventive...creative ability from God.

 

 

Their ways are ever known to him,
they cannot be hidden from his eyes.

 

Our days here on earth are numbered.

There is nothing we can do that our Creator does not know.

 

I once witnessed a high school catechism teacher put on a huge pair of sunglasses,

proclaiming they were 'God's glasses'.

She was trying to portray to these young people God's vision.

 

God sees all and knows all...and he still loves us.

The real question here;

How do we respond for all that we have received?

Of course ideally it is with wonder and awe for God...

it is by giving him glory and praise...

it is worshipping him.

 

Look around and appreciate the wonder of all that

 has been bestowed on us.

 

Activate your creative heart and give him praise.

Let all that you do

be for his honor and glory.