The Lord Sustains

Today’s Gospel Text:  And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" 34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35 And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Matt 15:29-37

Reflection: So goes the oracle of Isaiah the prophet: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isa 40:29-31

Then how could that crowd that was with Jesus for three days go hungry and become faint?

The Lord himself will provide for them, since they put their trust in the person of Christ Jesus and his teachings.

They did not hold food dear to them nor their many attachments and relationships but decided to be with Jesus and listen to his teachings and see him perform the many signs and wonders so as to increase their faith.

The same God whether of the Old testament or of the new or of our day: Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever, will never disappoint us if we learn to wait on him with faith for an answer to our prayers. Exception to the rule; unless we are asking what is sinful and contrary to his revealed will. 

He will see that we do not go hungry if we come to him with the poverty of spirit and humility, like these who did not come with their packets of food or the fruit of their toil and labor.

God’s concern for each one of us is a sure one and he doesn't test us beyond our capacity and measure as seen here; though Jesus could have fed the crowd on the first day itself but he instead chooses to do so on the last day, just that final moment.

Let this Gospel passage inspire each one of us to give of ourselves to the Lord in total surrender, without fear or anxiety, who in that ultimate moment will rescue us and come to our aid.

Prayer:  Lord, help us to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  and hope does not disappoint us; for you will sustain us. (cfr. Rom 5:3-5)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Jesus Provides

Scripture/Bible:  And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. 18 As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. John 17:11-19

Reflection:  What will a sole bread winner do when he comes to know that he or she is no longer going to be there to take care of the children? What will the thinking be and what plan will they make to rehabilitate them? 

For at least three years they had dedicated their lives to Jesus and his mission and they had confidence that it was something special to follow Jesus, but now, thanks to Jesus, who never made them think of future worries, they were calm. 

If there was any one who needed to worry, it was none other than Jesus. Now it was really a moment of crisis; for he was indeed their only hope and they were going to see that hope visibly crushed. The life of him, whom they put their complete trust and hope in, was going to be snuffed out completely from their midst. 

What a crisis it is when the one you are dependent on totally or rather put your complete trust and hope in for everything, is now soon going to be no more. In such situations, a talk on eternity and eternal life and meeting the person in eternity doesn’t work.  

The only consolation that works is that of providence; who will substitute or provide for what we are going to lose. 

But with Jesus there was plan B always in place, may be it had not sunk in the dedicated disciples.They may have even taken sometime, even post resurrection for plan B to sink in; “Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me” 

If you think that the Dedicated Disciples were such fools or so slow to understand this plan B, it is still worse with many of us who face similar situations. We forget that God was introduced to us a Father by Jesus and as Father; he cares for us much more than our earthly father. Yet we keep worrying about the daily things of life as if God as our Father doesn't care about our tomorrow. 

Prayer: “O God, I believe that you are able to provide me with every blessing in abundance, so that we may always have enough of everything and that we may abound for every good work.” (Cfr. 2 Cor 9:8)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us