Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast. – Isaiah 25:6
1ST READING
This
is why Jesus has come into the world — to destroy sin and death
forever! Do you believe that? So much of the Christian life is dependent
upon this belief. If we do not believe in the victory of God over sin
and death, then there is very little point in becoming a disciple of
Jesus. Yes, there will be times when we doubt our faith but let us
choose to reject these doubts, in favor of the truth Jesus has revealed
to us through His life.
Isaiah 25:6-10
6 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. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; 8 he
will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from
all faces; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole
earth; for the Lord has spoken. 9 On
that day it will be said: “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save
us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that
he has saved us!” 10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
P S A L M
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)
GOSPEL
The
healing miracles of Jesus are signs that He is the Messiah. This is
what came to be expected of the Messiah and Jesus delivers on this
belief. There were many other signs that Jesus fulfilled as well. It is
difficult to understand how so many of the Jews and, in particular,
their leaders, failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
Matthew 15:29-37
29 At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 Great
crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed,
the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured
them. 31 The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Jesus
summoned his disciples and said, “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.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves andthe fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over — seven baskets full.
REFLECTION
JESUS HAS COMPASSION FOR THE CROWD
One
of the important qualities of a good leader is his capacity for
compassion. This simply means that a good leader is able, or at least
does his best to try and understand the individual situations of the
people around them. It is a great trait to have as it will never fail to
endear people to you as you lead them. It also has a way of encouraging
loyalty and commitment to the projects you share in life.
Many leaders often wonder why people do not warm up to them in their
ministry and the simple answer is that they, the leaders, fail to warm
up to the people they lead. This can be expressed in being
over-demanding and expecting too much of individuals. A good leader will
take into account the various needs of his flock and be attentive to them. The only danger here is that
if this aspect of leadership is overdone, then the leader will
eventually become ineffective as the people he leads will become too
softhearted.
The trick is to know how to understand the people one leads and, at the
same time, instill a certain steeliness of resolve within them to get
the necessary things done. This is a hard balance to find, but we can see it easily
in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus is not afraid to call people
to conversion and a life of holiness and service; He is also able to
exercise compassion and reach out to the needs of those who follow Him.
Today, we focus on the latter aspect as He miraculously provides a meal
for those who gathered to listen to Him. Jesus cares about the things
we all care about — a decent meal, a roof over our heads, good friends.
He also calls us to account for our sins and challenges us to do better
the next time. He has found the right balance of a Good Shepherd. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
"Holy Spirit, open my heart to the
graces You desire to give me to make me both a good leader of those whom
I lead and a good follower of those who lead me."
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