CHRIST SATISFIES OUR HUNGER Every human being experiences hunger and thirst. This is why food and water are basic necessities of life. Apart from food and water, which we hunger and thirst for, we also hunger and thirst for other things in life such as: power, authority, wealth, fame, wisdom, knowledge, justice, righteousness, healing, virtuous life, etc. The subject of hunger and satisfaction is stressed in the readings of today. In the First Reading, we heard the Lord, through the prophecy of Isaiah, inviting the people of Israel to come and buy wine and milk without money. As at the time this prophecy was made, the people of Israel were in exile and they needed to be fed with food. In the Responsorial Psalm, God is presented to us as the only One who satisfies all our human desires. ‘The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season’ (Ps 145:15). In the Gospel Reading, Jesus, who had heard the sad news of the death of John the Baptist, his fore-runner, fed the multitude by multiplying only five loaves of bread and two fishes. Jesus fed the multitude with the Word and he later gave them bread to eat. Jesus did not allow the sad news of John the Baptist’s death to deter him from feeding the multitude. Like Jesus, we must not allow the tribulations, distress, persecutions and perils of this world to deter us from doing the work of God as St. Paul says in the Second Reading of today (Rom. 8:35. 37-39). What then are the practical messages that we can draw from the readings? Firstly, it is only God who can satisfy our human needs and desires, both spiritual and physical. Like the Israelites who were invited to a free banquet in the First Reading and the multitude who were satisfied in the Gospel Reading, God continues to grant us our human needs and desires at the appointed time. He has not changed for He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Secondly, let none of us think that we are too poor to offer something to others and let none of us think also that we are too rich to receive from others. Perhaps, the disciples of Jesus must have been surprised when their master told them ‘you give them something to eat’ (Matt. 14:16). For the disciples, it was the responsibility of Jesus to satisfy the needs of the crowd and not themselves. Like the disciples of Jesus, there are many of us who believe that since we are financially poor, we cannot offer any help to others. We may not have money to give to others, but the truth remains that we may have the time to visit those who are bereaved. We may not have the money to support Church activities, but we may have talents that will contribute to the growth of the Church, for instance we can sing, read, sweep the church or teach catechism. Thirdly, our readiness to satisfy the needs of others like Jesus did to the crowd should be done freely, without any strings attached to it. This is evident in the First Reading: ‘Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price’ (Is. 55:1). But today, we see many persons attaching strings to the gifts they offer to others. Other persons satisfy the needs of others with the intention of expecting something in return. Such acts should be discouraged as God gives to us freely. ‘What do you have that has not been given to you?’ (I Cor. 4:6). Fourthly, we must shun wastage of the resources God has given to us as human beings in general and as Christians in particular. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus ordered that the remnants be gathered and when they were gathered, it filled twelve baskets. Perhaps, many of us would have thrown away the left over. It is our earnest prayers that God will satisfy all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus and that we may also satisfy the needs of our brothers and sisters and thus receive eternal life.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:44:55 +0000
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