Daily reflection _ He walked on

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.  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
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!