1st Week of Advent
First Reading: Is 25:6-10
Gospel Reading: Mt 15:29-37
Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee, and then went up into the hills where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the dumb, the blind, the lame, the crippled, and many with other infirmities. The people carried them to the feet of Jesus, and he healed them. All were astonished when they saw the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the crippled healed and the blind able to see; so they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “I am filled with compassion for these people; they have already followed me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they may faint on the way.” His disciples said to him, “And where shall we find enough bread in this wilderness to feed such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
So Jesus ordered the people to sit on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the small fish and gave thanks to God. He broke them and gave them to his disciples, who distributed them to the people.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover broken pieces filled seven wicker baskets.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
People followed Jesus to a deserted place, hungry for physical healing. They got more. Jesus did not only heal them but also gave them food to eat. In healing them physically, Jesus must have been so passionate since the Gospel tells us “All were astonished… and glorified the God of Israel” (verse 31). In feeding them Jesus must have been so lavish since the Gospel tells us “all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover broken pieces filled seven wicker baskets” (verse 37).
Today, Jesus does the same thing at our Eucharistic celebrations. He said in another Gospel passage: “My flesh is real food and my blood real drink.” But are there as many excited takers? A story is told of a little boy who insisted that he should also be given communion at Mass. But he was too young to receive Holy Communion. To appease him, the parents assured him he could take Communion as soon as he grows some teeth. On a Sunday morning while the family was preparing for Mass, the little boy came to his mother with blood oozing from his gums. He had scraped off his gum with a pebble so he could show a tooth to her mother and be allowed to take communion. The enthusiasm of this little boy to receive Jesus embarrasses us.
We have so many forms of hunger that Jesus could satisfy at our Eucharistic tables. We only need to show as much enthusiasm to allow him to work in our lives. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.
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