7 August 2022 - ready or not

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Gird your loins and light your lamps

Jesus called his disciples to readiness, similar what the Lord commanded at the time of the Passover.

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover (see Exodus 12:11).

Just as those ancient Israel were to be ready for the angel to come in judgment against Egypt the disciples were to be prepared for the return of the "master", "the Son of Man". His coming too would be unpredictable, at an unexpected hour, like the coming of a thief. It could not be calculated in such a way that one could not allow himself to grow slack in zeal (see Romans 12:11) and then prepare all at once at the last minute. Only a life of sustained faithfulness would allow the servant to be ready.

and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,

ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.

The wedding of heaven and earth, of God and man, has been consummated by the incarnation, cross, and resurrection of Jesus himself. We now await his return to usher his people into the fullness of the wedding banquet in heaven.

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready (see Revelation 19:7).

This is the blessed and joyful hope that we await. This is the final goal of destiny and the deepest hidden desire of our hearts. However, we do not see this reality with clarity during our mortal lives. Hence all of today's readings speak of the posture with which we should await it.

Blessed are those servants

whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.

We are called to a posture of faith, "is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen", the same sort of faith that made Abraham and the other Old Testament saints acceptable and well attested before God. For us this faith serves as a reminder that we are all servants of the master, that we have higher obligations than those that are only of this world. Such readiness precludes usurping the master's role and becoming thereby destructive in our use of the gifts we have been given or abusive in our discharge of positions of responsibility.

But if that servant says to himself,

‘My master is delayed in coming,’

and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,

to eat and drink and get drunk,

then that servant’s master will come

on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour

and will punish the servant severely

and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

Faith reminds us that we have a master with plans that are ultimately better than our own plans. It is not merely fear that keeps our evil will in check, afraid that he might at any moment appear. It is rather a desire for what he promises, a readiness to open the door of the one who might at any moment come to begin the wedding feast.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (see Revelation 3:20).

Faith keeps our desires fixed on "a better homeland, a heavenly one", recognizing that here below we are strangers and aliens. We are not permanent residents, but are rather on a pilgrimage through through the things of this life, things that are temporary and destined to pass away. Faith allows our hope to remain firm even when our trust is severely tested, just as it did for Abraham. The fact that "God was able to raise even from the dead" gives us a hope that outlasts any challenges this life can throw at us.

It is true that those in the clergy and other positions of authority have a special responsibility, since each of them is a "person entrusted with more". But notice that no one is entrusted with nothing. None get off the hook for having no responsibility to begin with. We have each been given gifts and spheres of influence with which we are meant to, in our own small way "distribute the food allowance at the proper time". And so we can't shrink from this challenge and expect clergy and religious to do it all. Even if our role is small and hidden behind the scenes it is nevertheless important, just as was the role of the holy children during the original Passover.

For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice

and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

We are called to faith. But how to respond? To us, faith is often a binary, either something we possess or lack. It may almost seem as if there is nothing we ourselves can do about it ourselves, to gain it or to grow in it. But Jesus offered this parable and others like it precisely because a posture of mental readiness was a real possibility that we could, by a gift of grace, choose to live out. Peter understood this, and would later write, "gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (see First Peter 1:13).

It is is worth it to have a posture of faith, for only this can make the truth of the words of psalmist become a reality to us even here and now, as we await the master's return: "Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own".

David Ruis - We Will Dance

Matt Maher - The Spirit And The Bride

Songs In His Presence - Our Hearts Will Rise

6 August 2022 - light from light

Today's Readings

(Audio)

We did not follow cleverly devised myths

when we made known to you

the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Peter was an eyewitness to the majesty of Jesus in particular when he saw the face of Jesus "changed in appearance and" when "his clothing became dazzling white." This was something similar to but greater than what happened to Moses when he received the law and "came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God" (see Exodus 34:29). Even more than Moses, whose face alone was changed, Jesus came to resemble the Ancient One from the prophecy of Daniel, whose "clothing was bright as snow and the hair on his head as white as wool". It is no wonder Peter felt that need to push back against the idea that he was speaking in mythical or symbolic language. It would have been easy to dismiss his words as mere allusions to the Old Testament. But he insisted that he, with James and John, "have been eyewitnesses", that they really saw with their own eyes what they described. With their own ears they really heard the voice of the Ancient One saying, "This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased". By this declaration the Ancient One, in effect, gave to Jesus "dominion, glory, and kingship" giving him a "dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away" and kingship that "shall not be destroyed". He thus fulfilled the promised made to Mary by the archangel Gabriel that "he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (see Luke 1:32-33). Peter was at pains to say that, yes, he was aware it was incredible, but it was real. John too was insistent that he was not talking about myths or symbols, but rather that "which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched" (see First John 1:1).

And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah

Moses represented the law, Elijah the prophets, and together the bore witness to Jesus, just as Paul wrote, saying, "the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it" (see Romans 3:21). Elijah came in person on behalf of all of the prophets, to demonstrate that to "him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (see Acts 10:43). 

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,

but becoming fully awake,

they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

The sight of the transfiguration was so intense as to overwhelm Peter, John, and James. It was as though to behold it used the entirety of their strength. It was indeed, in some sense, as though to see the face of God induced an experience very much like death (see Exodus 33:20). The girl Jesus raised he himself had described as only sleeping (see Matthew 9:24). So too when Stephen was martyred and surrendered his spirit it was said that "he fell asleep" (see Acts 7:60). In this sense, then, to become a witness of the transfiguration, to fall asleep and then become fully awake, was to share in advance in the resurrection. Thus the "two men standing with him" at the transfiguration pointed ahead to the resurrection when, "behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel" (see Luke 24:4). Thus it was all the more important for those who described it to ensure that no one thought this account of the transfiguration was only a myth, because doing so would also help to ensure that the solid historical fact of the resurrection would not be similarly dismissed.

While he was still speaking,

a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,

and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.

This was the cloud of Shekinah glory that filled the holy of holies, the power of the Most High that Gabriel promised would overshadow Mary (see Luke 1:35), the Holy Spirit himself. The voice who spoke was the Father, yet his message was only to defer to his Word, who was the summary of all that he had to say to the human race, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him".

So, then, this account was no myth. But what does it mean for us in our own day? Peter tells us, saying "we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (emphasis mine).

Our world is still to a great extent a dark place. We are still being led on the "exodus" from death and sin to life and righteousness. Even the voice of the Father calling Jesus his "chosen" reminds us of the suffering servant of Isaiah, "my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights" (see Isaiah 42:1). Following Jesus means that we don't get to stay on Mount Tabor. We must continue on to Jerusalem and to Calvary. At times things may become so difficult that we begin to wonder if maybe it was in fact all a cleverly devised myth after all. But if we stay attentive to the lamp of God's word, as Peter instructed, it can provide the light we need until we too partake of the glory of the resurrection and "the morning star rises in our hearts". It may not always look like it to an external observer, but it is meant to be the case that "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (see Second Corinthians 3:18).

The heavens proclaim his justice,

and all peoples see his glory.

Ron Kenoly - Ancient Of Days

Songs In His Presence - Like A Son Of Man

Songs In His Presence - In Your Light

5 August 2022 - give and receive

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

Peter didn't want to hear about the suffering and death of Jesus himself. Now he heard Jesus calling all his would-be disciples to come after him and to embrace their own crosses as well. The horrible reality of crucifixion was too familiar at time to be regarded as mere embellishment or symbolism. Crucifixion was a shocking image, and it was hard to imagine what value willing taking up ones own cross could have.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Who wouldn't wish to save his own life? And it is true that we are meant to be good stewards of the life we have been given. Yet, if we insist on this life as our most important goal we will eventually come to realize that it is a doomed enterprise from the start. This life cannot last forever, nor, in this form, would we really want it to do so. Yet we all, in one way or another, desire to save ourselves. Billionaires spend their billions trying to become immortal. But we ourselves are often so protective of a comfortable life in this world that we are unwilling to risk or to sacrifice much at all. We act as though the temporary pleasures and comforts of this life can be made to endure forever, we build silos for them, and hope to gain the whole world. When we do manage to give of ourselves we are often only willing to give from our surplus and to the degree that we are able to do so with ease and relative comfort. 

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

How invested are we in things that are finally only temporary? Are we treating those things as though they will last forever, using them to inoculate our minds against the pressing realities of change, decay, and death? Are we trying to save our lives in the world by putting the inevitable end of those lives as far from our minds as possible? It need not be so. We can in fact  instead pass through this world without being tied down by it, and use the things of this world as though not using them (see First Corinthians 7:31). But we can only do this if we learn what to do about our eventual end, if we learn to number our days aright. 

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

It is only in giving our lives away that we receive that which truly lasts. It is a paradox to our minds and our emotions often tell us that the exact opposite is true. But it is only in giving of ourselves that we discover who we truly are. It is in shedding the protective shell of life in this world that we grow into what we are truly meant to be. Our emotions tell us to stop, warning us that to follow this path will mean the end of us. But if we listen instead to the voice of Jesus we will find that the things we have given away we could not have kept and that, as a consequence, we received more than we could have imagined. What is it that is received? It is the very life of God making possible this sacrificial love within our hearts.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" - Jim Elliot

If we embrace the call to follow Jesus it is not because we hate ourselves or wish to destroy ourselves. It is rather because what he promises is better than anything the world can offer, is something that the world cannot take away, and that outlast the kingdoms of this earth, and that alone endures forever.

Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here

who will not taste death

until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.

If the life of Jesus is in our hearts our bodies may die but our souls will live to behold the coming of the Son of Man and the establishment of the Kingdom alone which will not be shaken or destroyed.

“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,

and there is no god besides me.

It is I who bring both death and life,

I who inflict wounds and heal them.”

North Stoneham and Bassett parish - Take Up Thy Cross

4 August 2022 - taught by God

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

People typically get part right and part wrong when they are asked about Jesus. As the one who came to fulfill the preparation made by the forerunner John the Baptist there was something to say for identifying Jesus with John. Jesus had himself made comparisons to the days of Elijah, and his mighty deeds, such as raising a girl to life, would have reminded the people of him. There was a symbolic sense in which Elijah was supposed to mark the dawn of the Messianic age. But Jesus attributed this sense to John the Baptist, not to himself. Jeremiah was a prophet who prophesied the destruction of the temple, he was accused and persecuted by priests and secular authorities, even thrown into a pit and brought up again. He was probably more similar to Jesus than the people knew. Yet he was also more different than they dared to guess. So too for all of these possible answers. They all had some insight. But none of them got to the heart of it. 

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

In our own day we actually fare worse if we rely on others for our ideas about Jesus. We hear that he was a good man, or a spiritual master, or an enlightened individual. Among those less informed about history they may suggest that he didn't exist or that he was merely a political figure around whom myth and legend grew. 

Even asking other Christians might go wrong, and this for two reasons. First, because other Christians are often uninformed themselves. They may say that Jesus was the highest created being, second only to God. They may say that he was God giving the illusion of a human form. They may accidentally repeat any number of the heresies that result from imprecision about the joining of the the truly divine and the truly human in Jesus. They may not give due credence to the necessity of the historical reality of Jesus. Yes, even many Christians have acquiesced to a Jesus whose life need only be 'spiritually true'. But the second reason Christians can't ultimately help answer the question for us is that at the deepest level, the answer is not communicable. It is not merely data and correct Christological formulas. Even if other Christians understand as precisely as possible who Jesus truly is we can't just download their solution into our own minds. 

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

We have to attempt to make an answer for ourselves. But in doing so we don't ignore all that we know and have learned about Jesus as we do so. And yet, flesh and blood, including all that we have learned and experienced of Jesus is insufficient alone. All of our knowledge and memory, elevated by grace, are taken up into an invitation by the Father himself. We are free to respond, confirming the meaning hidden below the surface of what we knew about Jesus, and along with it the meaning hidden in our own lives. We are free to reject him, refusing to acknowledge anything but the superficial, rejecting the Father himself within our hearts moving us toward faith. No one can take our place in this I-Thou relationship. No can finally take our place and answer on our behalf.

No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives

how to know the LORD.

All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD

Although it is up to us to answer the question of Jesus about his identity, the correct answer is not something we simply make up our derive ourselves, just as it is not something we receive from others. It is something that we are taught by God himself, just as Peter was. It is something that confirms and makes sense of all of the teachings of the Church, which somehow brings all of Scripture and Tradition alive in our hearts, where before it may have been merely a dead letter. This sounds imposing, or so supernatural as to be extremely rare. But we need not fear. We see from Jeremiah that it was always God's plan to teach us in this way. Isaiah too echoed this, writing "All your children shall be taught by the Lord" (see Isaiah 54:13). Our part is that we open ourselves to this invitation. Even if we believe we know or have already answered the question, Jesus wants to make the reality of who he is ever more clear within our hearts. His Father is himself ready and willing to draw us more and more deeply into that truth.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

The Church is the place were Jesus is most fully present, where his truth is infallibly taught. Without her, we won't be able to see enough of Jesus himself to make a good response to his question. She is the one who assures that he is sufficiently available to the faithful that the call of the Father to confess the Son is intelligible, even if it remains a mystery no one entirely comprehends. Just as Peter was positioned to respond to the Father because he had spent time with Jesus, so too is the presence of Jesus in the Church meant to invite the world to make this some proclamation of faith.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

As proof that we need to continually revisit the question of the identity of Jesus we are presented with the failure of Peter that followed immediately on his praiseworthy confession. From a new and spiritual way of thinking he quickly reverted to an earthly one. And so too, often, do we. There is still too much of our own presumptions and presuppositions clinging like rust to our answer that Jesus is the Son of God. We need these shaken from us by listening constantly to the Father inviting us to make an ever more clear, ever more personal answer to the question of Jesus asking each one of us, "who do you say that I am?"

Elevation Worship (feat. Chris Brown) - What I See

3 August 2022 - who let the dogs in?

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!

My daughter is tormented by a demon.

This woman from a Gentile region knew the identity of Jesus more truly than did the religious leaders of Judea, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, for she recognized him as Son of David. She connected this not merely with royalty but with supernatural power, hoping that he could cast out the demon that cured her daughter. She had not been raised amidst a people that had been trained to hope for this promised Messiah. But she had heard enough about him to come to him in her need. She was sufficiently desperate for the sack of her daughter that she latched on to the possibility of hope that Jesus represented and she did not let go.

But he did not say a word in answer to her.

His disciples came and asked him,

“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”

She was so bothersome in her pleading that she annoyed the disciples. Jesus himself did not answer her at once. Perhaps he was giving his disciples a chance to see how they would respond, since they themselves would later be called to go proclaim the Gospel to every nation. Certainly he also knew that she would persist, that his lack of immediate response would give her the opportunity to show great faith.

“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

It was as though Jesus tentatively echoed what his disciples expected him to say, as though he put forth the answer playfully, so that by hearing the answer he received in turn from the woman the disciples would begin to grasp that the scope of the mission would eventually go beyond the house of Israel. What Jesus said was true. Israel really did have primacy in the order of salvation, since it was as one of them that Jesus came into the world, and to them that he first preached and manifested himself. But Jesus knew that the plan was to tear down the dividing wall that kept Jew and Gentile separate and to make his salvation available to the entire world. 

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”

The woman, for her part, knew she had no special claim on Jesus. She noticed, perhaps, that Jesus never said no exactly. And so she asked and kept asking. Importantly, she didn't let her pride interfere. She didn't insist on her request because she thought she deserved it, but insisted on it in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary. Pride was a greater barrier to Jesus than nationality or ethnicity, for it kept many Sadducees and Pharisees from coming to him. Humility was a door that could allow Gentiles access to his grace even before the cross of Jesus destroyed the dividing wall between peoples and nations forever. 

“It is not right to take the food of the children

and throw it to the dogs.”

Compared to people of Israel, who had been given the law, the covenants, and the scriptures, it was not so far fetched to call a Canaanite a dog. They were an idolatrous people who were therefore without Godly morality and ignorant of their ultimate destinies. They were more like dogs that lived only to satisfy immediate appetites, and moved at the whim of the idols they served. But this woman proved that they could be much more.

She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps

that fall from the table of their masters.”

Even the scraps that fell from the table of the master would be enough to raise dogs up into something more than dogs. For this bread did more than address the appetites of the body, but could even satisfy the hunger of the spirit. This woman believed more in the power of the gift of the master than in her own limitations or those of her background.

Then Jesus said to her in reply,

“O woman, great is your faith!

Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Although Jesus came to the House of Israel it was always the case, as Paul taught, that those who had faith were the true children of Abraham (see Galatians 3:7). Those who had only the pride of a lineage of flesh and blood but did not have faith would be sent away hungry. But even this Canaanite woman, because of her great faith, was able to eat at the table. The disciples of Jesus were meant to see in this woman the truth that faith and humility were the essential things in the Kingdom. He commended the humility of this woman to them as an example. From her they could learn to seek Jesus with persistence and humility. And seeing her they would they would begin to be able to welcome those like her, anyone who sought Jesus in faith, regardless of background.

Yes, a day will come when the watchmen

will call out on Mount Ephraim:

“Rise up, let us go to Zion,

to the LORD, our God.”

Vineyard Worship - Hungry (Falling On My Knees)

2 August 2022 - above the waves

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

To be tossed by the waves in not an unusual state for the Church, the Barque of Peter in the world. If we are not careful the waves can have a negative effect on us. The storm can predispose us fear, making it more likely that we will expect the worst. In the midst of storms we are sometimes more likely to expect a ghost the coming of the Lord Jesus himself.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.

Fear in the middle of a storm only paralyzes us and renders us unable to act. It makes it more likely that the ship will sink and not less so. But what are we to do in the deep of night far from shore when the wind is against us as if it has some malicious will of its own? We may not immediately by able to distinguish Jesus by the shape of his presence but if we listen for his voice we will be able to identify him even amidst the noise of the wind and the waves.

Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.

The presence of Jesus reveals the one who is the master of the wind and the waves. Somehow, by coming to us during the storm Jesus does more to demonstrate his divinity than is possible when we are all safely ashore. He speaks like God from the burning bush, telling his disciples that, "I am". When we hear this as the revelation that it truly is, his name and identity are able to cast out our fear and bring us unshakable peace. The voice of Jesus first calms the storms in our hearts, making us courageous, able to be bold in spite of the storms that still persist around us. In a sense it is as though faith makes us perceive that the storm has already been calmed.

Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

When we experience that Jesus himself is the one who "alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the back of the sea" (see Job 9:8) we become empowered to take steps of faith, faith that his authority, and not those of our circumstances is that which is primary and absolute. There are waves, yes, but he rules the waves. It is actually safer to be out of the boat and near to Jesus than it is to remain within the apparent safety of the boat. This does necessarily mean leaving the Church behind for distant foreign missions. But it does mean that we can learn to leave other forms of safety when we perceive that taking a risk of staking our lives on faith might bring us closer to Jesus.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,

and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The impulse of Peter, his desire to be near to Jesus, was not a bad impulse, else why would Jesus himself have called him to come? But it was not something that could immediately and all at once be sustained. Learning to walk smoothly and confidently above the waves of circumstance by the power of the assurance of our faith is not typically something we achieve perfectly the first time we try. But we need not. It is an important part of the learning process that we have to cry out for the hand of Jesus not only once, but again and again. By this process we learn to walk on water in a way that does not make us prideful or arrogant, but keeps us dependent on Jesus, as we learn to fix the gaze of our faith more and more on him alone.

He reached down from on high and seized me;

drew me out of the deep waters (see Psalm 18:17).

Storms are not things for which we are typically grateful. But if we learn to look for the presence of Jesus coming to us even in the middle of the storms of life we can receive storms as blessings that are greater than any we could have received otherwise. We can learn to confess, with the disciples, saying "Truly, you are the Son of God",  with such conviction that it seems like we are saying it and meaning it for the first time.

When I summon him, he shall approach me;

how else should one take the deadly risk

of approaching me? says the LORD.

We ought not recklessly jump from the boat into the waters. Assuredly we will sink like stones. We must wait for the voice of Jesus himself to call us and hone in on the sound of his voice, fixing our gaze on him, not the boat, not ourselves, not the water, but Jesus alone.

The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

Casting Crowns - Praise You In This Storm

1 August 2022 - bring them to him

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

This reminds us of another time when "he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (see Matthew 9:36). Therefore, since Jesus himself was himself good shepherd (see John 10:11) he made the sheep to "sit down on the grass", that is "to lie down in green pastures" (see Psalm 23:2). The disciples had their doubts, as though they said "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" and "Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?"" (see Psalm 78:19-20).

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;

give them some food yourselves.”

Jesus was the good shepherd raising up shepherds after his own heart to tend the flock. But, for their part, the disciples only realized how little they had to offer. All they brought to the table were five loaves and two fish, which were utterly insufficient compared to the vast crowd of more than five thousand men, not counting women and children. Even if they dared to hope that Jesus himself might do something for the crowd they had no conception of how they might give them some food themselves as Jesus commanded. The loaves and the fish couldn't touch the hunger of the crowds. The law (the five books of the Pentateuch), the psalms, and the prophets, was insufficient to answer their deep spiritual hunger. The suggestion of the disciples was to dismiss the crowds, to send them away, and to make them fend for themselves. The disciples didn't know how to address their hunger and so, they thought, they would be better off on their own. But the heart of the shepherd did not want to see his sheep scattered. His desire was rather to gather all sheep around him until there was one flock and one shepherd (see John 10:16).

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”

Jesus wanted to teach his disciples what to do when they encountered the insufficiency of their own efforts and resources. The temptation would be for them to throw in the towel allow everyone to go his own way. But Jesus desired rather that they bring what they did have to him. Their weakness was not meant to be something that scattered and divided but rather something that further united them in Christ. They were meant to be able to feed the crowds just as Moses and Elisha had done, but they would only be able to do so by turning to Jesus himself, who alone could transform too little into more than enough.

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,

he said the blessing, broke the loaves,

and gave them to the disciples,

who in turn gave them to the crowds.

Jesus broke open the loaves just as he broke open the riches of the Old Testament, transforming them from lifeless letters that brought death (see Second Corinthians 3:6) into words of Spirit and life. He began to unveil the mystery toward which all these food miracles pointed when he would give to his disciples his own Body and Blood in the form of bread and wine that they in turn might provide it to the entire world. Before this multiplication of the loaves it might have seemed like the manna in the desert was a past reality constrained to the pages of history. But instead, Jesus assured, and now demonstrated, it pointed ahead toward the time when his Father would provide for all peoples the "true bread from heaven" (see John 6:32). This multiplication of the loaves was a prelude and even a primer for that day when the "LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined" (see Isaiah 25:6).

The false prophet Hananiah tried to solve the problems of Israel by himself, by insisting that his own will was that of God, tried to make up for his own insufficiency by resorting to lies. After all, he had nothing of true substance to offer. We are called to be instead like Jeremiah who preferred the will of the Lord to his own, even when that will spoke of curse before blessing. He humbled himself before the Lord so that in due time he would exalt him (see James 4:10). Sometimes, our weakness is so apparent that it is truly painful to bring it to the Lord. But whenever we do so we find that his strength is sufficient for us in our weakness (see Second Corinthians 12:9). We must even bring our sins to the Lord in confession rather than letting them scatter us to the surrounding villages. Jesus himself will then multiple in our hearts the grace we need to bring forth good fruit and lead us to the feast, the wedding feast of the lamb, where he himself is the bread we receive.

Matt Maher - Your Grace Is Enough

BarlowGirl - Enough