Journey through the Feast and the Feeding

Feast

Journey through the Feast and the feeding is how I’ll refer to this post. The reason for that is I began formulating this post as I meditated on the Feast of the Epiphany and made the connection between that Gospel and the feeding of the 5,000. I guess I should have titled it The Feast and the FEAST!

Recently we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. As I sat listening to the Gospel being proclaimed, I was struck by these words: “they brought out their gifts and presented them to Him.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard and read this Gospel (I’ve even blogged about it) and I’ve never been struck by those words the way I was this year. With that in mind, I began to realize that all too often we become accustomed to the familiar and fail to put on a new set of eyes or ears in this case.

Journey

The more I thought about the Gospel the more I sensed God speaking not only to me but to everyone who calls themselves Christian. For in this Gospel we are reminded of life’s “journey” – a journey that may seem long and arduous. There are times of hope along the journey but there are most certainly obstacles along the way as well.

The experience of the Magi and their dream should remind us of the importance of discernment and patience. Discernment and patience help us understand what is of God and what is not. They give us an opportunity to “wait with God” (I read that in my Advent book and it was a real eye opener) as the Magi did.

Feeding

In the Gospel of the feeding of the 5,000, I was drawn to these words: “Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven and gave thanks to God.” At first glance, we see a multitude of people and not enough food. Yet Jesus looked up to heaven and showed gratitude for what little they had. He didn’t focus on what they didn’t have, He was grateful for what they did have.

So how do I connect these two Gospels? As I mentioned before, we are all on a journey. In my eyes, this journey never ends. We never arrive at a particular destination, we simply start and never stop growing. We grow closer to God. While God dwells within us, our life here on earth consists of many ups and downs which distract us from this truth. There are moments where we lack trust or fail to feel God’s presence. Those are the obstacles, those are the Herods, if you will. So we continue the journey, seeking God.J

Perseverance

As we persevere on the journey and grow closer to God, we become more trusting, more aware of God’s presence in everyone and everything. It’s at this point that we are ready, willing and able to “bring out our gifts and present them to Him” – by sharing our gift, material or spiritual, with our neighbor. We become more charitable as we grow in relationship and trust.

Oftentimes, however, we may feel like there’s just not enough to go around; not enough for us to share. Between our own personal obligations, financial or otherwise, we may feel like we can’t afford to donate to a cause or give of our time because we’re so busy. In those times, all we have to do is look at the perfect example we have in Jesus. He didn’t focus on what he didn’t have, he was grateful for what he did have and the miracle followed.

Gratitude

I once read: Gratitude is a magnet for miracles – isn’t that the truth! Jesus proved it. So in times when you feel you don’t have enough to give, remember the feeding of the 5,000, call out to God and say Thank You! His response may surprise you! God bless you!