IMAGES OF A MAGNIFICENT BANQUET
The trust and hope we have in
Jesus Christ and which we can share with others by our lives and words is what
ultimately opens us or any person to genuine fulfillment.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Isaiah painted a picture of
the great day of the Lord by describing images of a magnificent banquet:
"A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice
wines" (Is 25:6b).
The splendid meal will be as joyful as it will be sumptuous,
for "He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears
from all faces" (Is 25: 8). The Mass offers us a glimpse of this
magnificent banquet in heaven. The image, however, is already the reality by
anticipation.
In the Mass, the Lord provides
for us, His people, not a feast of rich food and choice wines, but the
spiritual nourishment of His Body and Blood, giving us great hope during this
Advent season. It is through the Divine Liturgy that the Lord wipes away the
tears from our faces, for in the Eucharist - the Sacrament of Jesus Christ's
death and Resurrection - we have a guarantee of our own resurrection from the
dead. Jesus said, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life
eternal and I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:54). How fitting is
our proclamation of the mystery of faith: "We proclaim Your Death, O Lord,
and profess Your Resurrection until You come again."
Jesus, our Redeemer, fills us
with great hope when we recall His words, "The Lord God will wipe away the
tears from all faces" (ibid). In today's Gospel, we hear the story that
took place along the Sea of Galilee. Jesus' heart was moved with pity for the
crowd (cf. Mt 15: 32). The crowds were astonished as they saw "the mute
speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to
see" (Mt 15:31). And yes, He feeds them to help give the crowd strength to
continue on their journey. Yes, He did wipe away the tears from their faces!
Our prayer in the Responsorial Psalm brings us to this truth: "The Lord is
my Shepherd" (Ps 23:1).
The trust and hope we have in
Jesus Christ and which we can share with others by our lives and words is what
ultimately opens us or any person to genuine fulfillment. As we prepare for
Christmas we will enter the holy birth of our Lord with peace and freedom from
pain and death. Our trust and hope, too, show the world around us that there is
more to life than having a lot of gifts under the tree! For the Mass is God's
Christmas gift to us today and everyday.
In order for the Mass to mean
what it should, our faith must be more than a proclamation on our lips. It must
penetrate our whole being and transform our entire outlook. Yes, real, deep
faith is what we need; to see that whether the Mass is celebrated with the
quiet simplicity of a weekday Liturgy in our own chapel or amid the impressive
splendor of a special feast in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, it is the
spiritual meal which anticipates the glory of eternal life. In every Mass we
can say, "Behold our God, to Whom we look to save us! This is the Lord for
Whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that He has saved us" (Is
25:9)!