August 02, 2020
18th Sunday Ordinary A
In this age of texting I wonder how often many messages are sent by reflex without forethought. Idle chatter to fill the day. Driving through a park I saw a man walking his dog preoccupied with his cell phone receiving and sending texts. His dog was enjoying the walk and sniffing everything. Many texts, often spoken and written words are not consequential. They clutter our minds and devices, soon forgotten or deleted. But some spoken and written words have staying power. Words can continue to inspire!
The prophetic verbal utterances/oracles of Isaiah are written down because of their significance to the Jewish people during the time of exile. Exiles feel abandoned and punished by God for their lack of fidelity to the covenant. But Isaiah, speaking for God, utters words of hope, restoration and return to Jerusalem. “All you who are thirsty come to the water. All you who are hungry come to the banquet. Come, listen that you may have life. The everlasting covenant with God is not ended, it is renewed.†We can close our eyes and hear these words on the lips of Jesus.
Letters of St. Paul, written two thousand years ago, are reread, and read out loud. “What will separate us from the love of Christ?†It would seem in Paul’s experience that there is nothing – no anguish, no distress, no persecution, no power, no famine, no peril, not even a pandemic -- that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do we hear these words?
In our Gospel Jesus, disembarks from a boat. A crowd gathers. He heals many who are sick. He proclaims the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knows that they are hungry for the Word of God and they are hungry for food. Jesus says to his disciples: “There is no need to send them away; give them food yourselves.†Jesus blesses the five loaves of bread and two fish. The disciples distribute to the crowd. They eat, are nourished, and satisfied. There are 12 baskets of fragments left over. An abundance. During this time of pandemic, of fear, of uncertainty and of impoverishment we hear the words of Jesus: “Give them food yourselves.â€
Representative, Congressman, John Lewis was honored this week for his service to our Nation. He left a final message on the importance of words. “Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.â€
Previous:
17th Sunday Ordinary
Next:
19th Sunday Ordinary
