The imagery in Isaiah is so wonderful...
On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
Juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines! Juicy - I love that. Religion can often come up as dry and lifeless. The difference between stripping away the superfluous for the clear and simple and stripping away life itself is easily confused.
And in our Gospel from Matthew we hear about Jesus feeding the masses.
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way.”
Jesus does not want them to be sent away hungry for fear that they may collapse. They is we! Jesus comes to us with rich and juicy food and drink each day and it is our choice to receive this great meal and be nourished. The problem is that we - at least for me, can so often turn the meal away. Worse yet is to receive the meal and then not share the bounty that has been given to us.
We come to the table to be nourished and fed, to be given out of an abundance that does not seem possible, that leaves over more than what it seemed we started out with.
There is more than enough. We must come to be nourish and to nourish one another.
Fran, these words struck me -- "religion can often feel dry and lifeless." ... so true. what happened to the promise of rich wine and rich food?
ReplyDeletereally makes me think...
Juicy. You really get the feeling of sustenance from that word.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Fran. I remember that while reflecting on the loaves and fishes story once I was struck with the baskets collected after everyone was fed. There is that abundance that you spoke of. He never gives us only enough, he always gives in abundance.
ReplyDeleteAndie
Thanks, Fran. And DECEMBER 1--how did it get to be this date??
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