In these last five months of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, it is interesting to note from my conversations with parishioners, family members and others, how we are still trying to hold on to a life that offers so few comparisons to what was versus what is reality now. In doing so, people voice their fears, confusions and hopes about what will happen so they can cope with whatever changes will stick with us in the future.
From a faith perspective, it is about wholeness and how can we attain that when we are restricted by worshipping in our parish church. It seems to be a changing venue from allowing “x” number of people within the church walls, to live streaming only and to as many as are allowed to attend an outdoor Mass as long as all adhere to social distancing requirements. In respect to that, the thirst for receiving Eucharist is still paramount; only the fear of being around large numbers of people lessen those receiving Communion and so some attend the drive through lines after the Sunday daytime Masses.
Our readings and Gospel today talk about the difficulties in life that prevent us from being active in our faith; even though most of the reasons we give for being passive are based upon a preservation perspective rather than God’s perspective of what we are called by our Baptism to do. If we listen, however, we can find the impetus to be more proactive to doing God’s will.
Isaiah, Chapter 55, is attributed toward the end of the Babylonian exile. It is an invitation to the Israelites from that time and us to put aside our fears, accepting the promises of God to feed us both physically and spiritually with renewal of a covenant of salvation. It prompts us to accept this free gift because only God can provide us with what we need in life and to provide it in abundance because God is always reliable in all matters as our Creator.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans begins and ends with being fed with God’s love. The beginning refers to the love of Christ in which we are told that nothing can come between us and Christ’s love even if we are troubled, worried, being persecuted, lacking food or clothes or being threatened or attacked. God will not refuse anything for us as long as we persevere in our living faith. We are in God’s hands. Finally, the Gospel of St. Matthew illustrates for us the total meaning of love. Jesus, heartbroken about the death of His cousin, John the Baptist, who He tells us was the greatest prophet who ever lived, decides to go off by Himself in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where He can be alone with His thoughts and prayers. The people who have been with Him, listening to His words and being healed, however, cannot leave Him alone and follow him to where he would land. Filled with love and sadness, He leaves His solitariness and moves toward the needs of the people; to feed them.
Rev. Joel Blunk, a Presbyterian Associate Pastor, wrote an article on the above Gospel in the book, “Naked, and You Clothed Me: Homilies and Reflections for Cycle A, which said: God intends for our hunger (Eucharist) to be met, and while Jesus recognizes that we may not live on bread lone (unable to regularly receive it due to the pandemic), He also knows that “without bread we cannot live.”
For us, the difficulty in not receiving Eucharist on a regular basis should not lessen who we believe we are as disciples. Jesus’ compassion for us, His disciples, is how we need to model our lives. God continually feeds us with His love. We need to accept that love and feed others by keeping the meaning of Eucharist at the center of our lives so that no matter how difficult we believe life may be, God has a plan for us and He has given us all the tools we need to fulfill the purpose for which He created us: To feed us with His Love so we can feed others!
Reading 1: Isaiah 55:1-3
Reading 2: Romans 8:35, 37-39
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
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