Bread for the Poor

December 1, Wednesday

FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT

         For Isaiah, the sign of the messianic times is that through the Messiah God will give to his people an abundance of food and drink. People long for life, and for peace. Prisoners want to be free, the blind wants to see, the hungry wants bread. But likewise, people hunger for consolation, friendship, forgiveness, understanding, acceptance, and justice. These desires are fulfilled when Jesus, the Messiah comes. He gives food to his hungry people. And we, his disciples, have to satisfy the hunger of God’s people today. For he acts through us.

                    

First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10

Here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
    a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
    the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
    Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
    He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
    Yes! God says so!

Also at that time, people will say,
    “Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
    This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
    God’s hand rests on this mountain!”

As for the Moabites, they’ll be treated like refuse,
    waste shoveled into a cesspool.

 

Gospel: Matthew 15:29-37

After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.

But Jesus wasn’t finished with them. He called his disciples and said, “I hurt for these people. For three days now they’ve been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can’t send them away without a meal—they’d probably collapse on the road.”

His disciples said, “But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?”

Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they said, “plus a few fish.” At that, Jesus directed the people to sit down. He took the seven loaves and the fish. After giving thanks, he divided it up and gave it to the people. Everyone ate. They had all they wanted. It took seven large baskets to collect the leftovers.

 

Prayer

God of all people,

you know how people hunger and thirst

for truth, love and acceptance.

If we accept you and believe in you,

we see our deepest desires and aspirations

being fulfilled by you

as we work for the coming of your kingdom.

Help us to let the cup that you pour for us

overflow on all your people,

that all may praise you,

now and for ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Do not become devotees of Pontius Pilate

The crisis we are living due to the pandemic has been affecting everyone; we will emerge from it for the better if we all seek the common good together. Concern for our neighbours and a generosity of heart has indeed saved thousands of lives from death. International agencies had predicted more people to die of hunger than of the sickness itself, which fortunately did not come true. Indeed the miracle of multiplication of bread or rather, the miracle of feeding the hungry not from the surplus but from the minimum of resources is a reality even on this day, in our times.

But we would notice some discrepancies with the Gospel narrative. Matthew says, it was on a hill in Galilee that Jesus healed the lame, the maimed and the blind. We might wonder, was it not an awkward place for the sick people to reach Jesus? It must not have been easy for the lame and the blind to climb the hill! This makes one thing clear: For Matthew, the mountain location echoes the prophesy of Isaiah. In Chapter 35 we hear the Prophet saying the lame, the maimed, the blind and the dumb, and all peoples, would come to Mount Zion and God would feed the world at the coming of God’s kingdom.

Through this narrative, Matthew intends to tell the reader that the Prophesy has its fulfilment in the person of Jesus, the Messiah. Matthew tells his community that Mount Zion and its temple are no longer the places where God resided, rather it is the risen Christ through whom we encounter God.

Jesus is moved with compassion for the people who were exhausted and abandoned. Those people needed a message of hope and of life. And this is the message of Advent, that there is a future for everyone. We are not doomed to failure. Reconciliation, forgiveness, salvation, life is always possible. Even if society condemns us, even if friends abandon us, even if our businesses fail … comfort and healing are available.

And God’s blessings are not rationed, but are given in abundance. Count the blessings we have received and realise that we have received them in abundance. The message is to be mindful of the needs of our neighbour and be moved with compassion. Do not turn away from the miseries of our neighbours, because God has placed them next to us, believing we would care for them. God needs us and he has placed his trust in us.

Pope Francis reminds us not to become devotees of Pontius Pilate, washing our hands of others’ sufferings and pass by and go your own way.

 

Video available on Youtube: Do not become devotees of Pontius Pilate