Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
[Isaiah 25:6-10A and Matthew 15:29-37]On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feat of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines..... At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there......Then he took the seven loaves, and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied.
The Gospel of Matthew makes a great effort to represent Jesus as the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament. Placing a couple of lines alongside each other shows this. Jesus provides a banquet on a mountain! This banquet is an act of compassion for the hungry, the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, etc. "The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces!" Food! Glorious food! I can testify personally that this season does tend to present me with too much food but it is surrounded by friends, family and love! A meal is more than food. It is an encounter with another person or persons! It means conversation and sharing and laughter. I am put in mind of the lines attributed to the historian, Hilaire Belloc: "Where e'er the Catholic sun doth shine, there is food and laughter and good red wine. At least I've always heard it so! Benedicamus Domino!" Throughout the gospels, Jesus is depicted at meals and many of his parables center around banquets. If you can eat, you can live another day! Jesus presents himself ultimately as food that allows one to live forever! In a season of hope, that can be a powerful image of hope. The invitation is to "come and get it!" The sad thing is that so many say, "Thanks! But I'm not hungry!" AMEN
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