Praching of August 1st, 2022 by br. William Loh, OP.
Monday of Week 18 in Ordinary Time
There’s something about sharing a meal with someone, indeed our Lord chose this setting for the Eucharist, for worship. There’s an exchange, a giving of oneself, a communion. A bishop in his final days on his deathbed quoted the film Babette’s Feast he said “the only thing we take with us when we die, is what we’ve given away”. Astoundingly God has given us the freedom as human beings, to give of ourselves to others, even offering what little we have we have back to God. All things come from Him, and yet we as secondary rational beings, we have the opportunity to participate with God in the being and becoming of the world. We’re not just robots, we eat, we feel and experience the drama of life.
Sometimes we want to get away from it all, especially in moments of crisis, we run away to that lonely place. “Go away! Leave me alone, let others fend for themselves”, but the harsh reality of the world reels us back in, we see the need, the world hungers for Christ. And Christ says to us “Feed them yourself”, God has given us everything we need. “But Lord, I’ve done some calculations, I don’t have enough to give, I don’t even know where all this is going!”, but then we’re told by Christ “Don’t send them away, Give me what you have”. There’s something humbling and yet liberating knowing this, that even though I don’t think I have enough to give, I can trust that ultimately the Lord will provide. When confronted with difficulty we’re called to face the challenge together. We don’t run away to that lonely place but bear the responsibility in communion. Dare we trust Christ with the limited resources we have and our time and our attention? The Gospel reminds us that it is not just up to us, it is God’s will that we participate in. God takes what little we have and feeds the many, the Lord provides.
What are your five loaves and two fish, are you saving them for later? Give what you can, Christ will give to excess, do your best and let God handle the rest.
Br. William Loh, OP
