HE WALKED ON
In His own
suffering He was able to reach out to all who called upon Him. We too can do
the same when we are grieving or hurting through our life experiences.
John
the Baptist was beheaded in the year 28 or 29, just as Jesus Christ was
embarking on His earthly ministry. Jesus and John were close cousins in fact,
and John's death must have hit Jesus hard. Overcome as He must have been by
grief, no one would have blamed Jesus for walking away from His mission at that
point. Instead He walked on. In His own suffering He was able to reach out in
compassion to the suffering and needs of others.
In
today's Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, "The Lord is gracious and merciful...
The Lord is good to all and compassionate to every creature... The Lord is just
in all His ways... and is near to all who call upon Him in truth" (Ps
145:8 - 9,17 - 18). In our Scripture reading for this Sunday, Jesus looks out
to the multitude of people and is moved with pity for their needs. His response
doesn't stop there, He doesn't say, "Poor things!" and take off to
share some loaves and fish with His disciples. Instead, Jesus says, "Give
them some food yourselves." And when the disciples protest that all they
have five loaves and two fish He replies, "Bring them here to Me." In
today's terms, He probably would have said, "Precisely. Get what you have
and let's feed these people!" And you know the rest of the story...
Our
heavenly Father wants His people to return and gather, as expressed in the
image of the Divine banquet. There, God's love is manifest in the total feeding
of the people both spiritually and materially. What has the power to separate
us from the holy meal of God's love? "Nothing," Saint Paul says. No
danger or death itself. The key to overcome separation is faith; faith in
Jesus, the Host of this banquet, "the love of God" revealed "in
Christ Jesus our Lord," Who's Body and Blood are real food.
Jesus
knew His mission and had to walk on. In His own suffering He was able to reach
out to all who called upon Him. We too can do the same when we are grieving or
hurting through our life experiences. May we transform it into solidarity with
others who are in need.
Walk
on!