I Do Not Want to Send Them Away Hungry

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

By Melanie Rigney

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. (Isaiah 25:6)

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cut overflows. (Psalms 23:5)

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.” (Matthew 15:32)

Piety

Feed me, oh Lord. Fill my heart and head and soul with Your grace. Give me the courage and faith to eat at Your table and the kindness and love to bring along a friend or two or four thousand.

Study

It’s so easy to overindulge at this time of year. What is your temptation spot? Eating too many Christmas goodies at the office? Spending too much on gifts for loved ones? Imbibing too much at neighborhood parties? Sacrificing your prayer time because you overscheduled yourself?

And yet, these types of overindulgence leave us empty, worried, hung over, stressed out. We fail to remember that all this is fleeting and scarcely worth the mental, financial, or emotional price placed on it. Rather, it is the Lord’s Table that feeds us to the brim and provides us with the spiritual equivalent of choice wines and rich foods. God doesn’t put out the $3.29 Charles Shaw merlot for us; He gives us Wine Spectator’s top wine of 2008, the $75 per bottle Clos Apalta Coichagua Valley. He doesn’t give us the value menu; He super-sizes the best dinner we’ve ever had and fills us to overflowing.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells of Jesus’s heart being “moved with pity for the crowd” because after accompanying Him for three days, it’s time for them to disperse. But no one’s eaten for three days, and Jesus is concerned their hunger will cause them to collapse. He takes seven loaves and a few fish and gives thanks. After everyone is full, seven baskets of food remain.

Surely, Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for today’s followers as well. The table is set for us; in fact, it’s groaning from the delights it holds. Indulge yourself.

Action

Do something small and achievable for the Lord this Advent. Maybe your action will be an extra rosary a week or an extra ten minutes in prayer each day or an extra three dollars per week in the collection plate. Then do it. And on Christmas day, offer special thanksgiving for the richness with which He has fed you.