We read in Isaiah 55: "Oh come to the water all you who are thirsty; though have no money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk. Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. Pay attention, come to me; listen and your soul will live."
This image of a compassionate God who provides nourishment free of charge for his starving people is presented in a different manner in the story of the multiplication of loaves which we read in Matthew 14:13-21.
Jesus' compassion like that of the God of Isaiah led him to perform the miracle of the loaves by which thousands of people were fed and had scraps left over from the five loaves and two fish which they found in the camp. Through this miracle Jesus taught his followers then, and he teaches us today, that he is the Living Bread, the ultimate food that satisfies humanity's most profound hunger.
He teaches us today that he is the answer to the deepest yearnings of the human heart. If men and women would agree to go to him, then they would find the way to abundant life and to the peace that surpasses understanding.
The men and women of today are otter experiencing a deep void inside, a profound hunger of the heart that is a consequence of alienation from their life source. In the desperate search for solution to this hunger of the heart, men and women have often encountered many thieves, rogues and brigands who ale only out to steal, to cheat and to destroy.
Many people are actually being led on poison, while others are wasting their time and effort on what is not load at all. But the void created by the loss of the life of God cannot be filled by any other entity. Only God in Christ will satisfy the greatest hunger of the human heart and the yearning of human society. It is within this context and in the midst of this scenario that Jesus Christ also presents himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10: 11 ), the true gate of the sheepfold (John 10:9), and the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
He says that as the Good Shepherd, the sheep that belong to him listen to his voice. He says that those who do not belong to his sheepfold hunger and thirst, they starve. They are also easy prey for wolves. Besides him, other people who parade themselves as shepherds are not authentic. Like mercenaries or hirelings, they lack genuine interest for the flock. They are interested only in themselves and what they stand to gain. They will abandon the sheep as soon as they see the wolf approaching. They are not shepherds but thieves, rogues and brigands.
Jesus says in John 14:27, "I leave you peace, my own peace I give you; the peace which the world cannot give is my gift to you." Jesus is the resting place for all who have laboured and are overburdened - for all who have borne the heavy yoke of poverty, sickness, oppression, discrimination, persecution, loneliness, rejection, childlessness, problem children, and spousal infidelity and abuse.
He says in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." It is in Jesus and in him alone that even today the wounded heart can be healed, the broken family can be mended, and alienated humanity can be reconciled with God, with neighbour, and with the natural environment.
The core of the Christian mystery of salvation lies in the dramatic irony of the shepherd who dies in order to save his flock. This image contrasts sharply with our everyday experience of leadership, but as St. Paul says, that is the foolishness of God that is wiser than human wisdom, the weakness of God that is greater than human strength.
We are dealing here with the power of love that overcame sin and death. It is by sacrificial love that Christ satisfies the profound hunger that plagues the human heart and makes so many human beings ever so restless. Jesus demonstrated through his suffering and death, profound love of and care for the flock, constant vigilance, fearlessness, and courage.
This is why Jesus is the answer to the hunger of the world for genuine, committed and selfless leadership. This is why Jesus is the answer to the hunger of men and women for true love, fidelity and communion.
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
How to Achieve Business Excellence »
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29
Spiritual Development for our Youth »
Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
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