They all ate and were satisfied

They all ate and were satisfied. 

Has anyone ever surprised you with a gift of food?   Maybe it was dinner that a neighbor brought over when a family member passed away.   Maybe someone at work handed you a cup of gourmet coffee when you were laboring over a tight deadline.   Or maybe someone gave you a gift card to your favorite restaurant for your birthday.

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand was also an unexpected gift.   The people who had followed Jesus into a deserted place weren’t expecting him or his disciples to give them dinner.   No one asked him to perform this miracle.   He just chose to do it out of love for these people who had come so far to see him.   Jesus fed them because he wanted to spend more time with them rather than have them leave early to find food in the surrounding villages.

What makes Jesus’ gesture even more striking is that he was grieving the execution of John the Baptist at the time.   He had initially wanted some time alone but changed his plans when he saw the crowd of people eager to hear him teach.   Mark tells us that Jesus’ “heart was moved with pity,” and he decided to put aside his grief and care for the people (Mark 6:34).

This says so much about the heart of Jesus.   First, he wants to spend time with us. You could say that he even enjoys his time with us.   He will never “dismiss” us when we go to him (Mark 6:36).   Second, we can trust that Jesus will give us the gifts we need, even when we least expect it.   Even when it never occurred to us to ask, he will pour out his grace and his peace.   We just have to make time, like those in the crowd, to come and sit with him.

Jesus’ greatest gift to us is the Bread of Life in the Eucharist.   Even better, we don’t have to travel far to receive this heavenly food.   He comes to us on every altar at every Mass and feeds us.   And just like the people who ate and were satisfied, we, too, can be filled to overflowing every time we share a meal with Jesus.

Word Among Us