The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the Love of God that seeks to lead us to restful places of nourishment and restoration for our being.
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| Winter quiet and rest |
The reading from the First Letter of John declares God Is Love.
* [4:7–12] Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to his presence in our lives. One who loves shows that one is a child of God and knows God, for God’s very being is love; one without love is without God. The revelation of the nature of God’s love is found in the free gift of his Son to us, so that we may share life with God and be delivered from our sins. The love we have for one another must be of the same sort: authentic, merciful; this unique Christian love is our proof that we know God and can “see” the invisible God.1
Christian Life practices that Love. Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
[Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
The Feeding of the Five Thousand is described in the Gospel of Mark.
* [6:35–44] See note on Mt 14:13–21. Compare this section with Mk 8:1–9. The various accounts of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, two each in Mark and in Matthew and one each in Luke and in John, indicate the wide interest of the early church in their eucharistic gatherings; see, e.g., Mk 6:41; 8:6; 14:22; and recall also the sign of bread in Ex 16; Dt 8:3–16; Ps 78:24–25; 105:40; Wis 16:20–21.3
George Butterfield concludes his comments on the teaching of John and St Augustine with some distilled wisdom.
If we love, it is enough. Love, and do what you will. It sounds so simple but may the Lord, during this season of Epiphany, pour the light of wisdom and discernment into our minds and hearts so that we learn how to do it. Amen.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord fills all things with blessing from above,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"So that by every means the Lord might be known to be God by nature, he multiplies what is little, and he looks up to heaven as though asking for the blessing from above. Now he does this out of the divine economy, for our sakes. For he himself is the one who fills all things, the true blessing from above and from the Father. But, so that we might learn that when we are in charge of the table and are preparing to break the loaves, we ought to bring them to God with hands upraised and bring down upon them the blessing from above, he became for us the beginning and pattern and way." (excerpt from FRAGMENT 177)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 4:7-10 concludes with the prayer “Father, thank you for your love: first, costly, and free. Help me to love as you have loved me.”
Costly. Love is not just kind feelings or well-wishing aimed at other people—even people who have hurt us or disappointed us. Neither is it just a broad tolerance of different types of people. Love, as God himself showed us, is giving another person something precious to you. Sometimes it’s your time, like when you put down the novel you are reading to help your spouse find the car keys. Sometimes it’s your forgiveness. Or your patience. Or your listening ear. It could be any number of things. Mostly, love is laying down—sacrificing—your desires and preferences in order to lift up someone else.6
Friar Jude Winkler asks what could God possibly do to teach us about Love? The price of atoning for our sins is paid to us who have squandered our inheritance. Friar Jude reminds us of one multiplication for the twelve Tribes of Israel and one that is perfect for Gentiles.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that it seems like our society is at a low point in terms of how we talk about challenging, controversial topics within our political discourse and even our church reflections. I believe the only way through this polarization is a re-appreciation for silence.
To be clear, the kind of silence I’m describing does not ignore injustice. While some folks who claim to be enlightened contemplatives are merely navel-gazers, as Thomas Merton suggested, there are others who use silence to advance the cause of justice. Barbara Holmes explains:
We tend to presume that one must create silent spaces for contemplation. It is as if we have drawn the spiritual veil around contemplative activity, seeking to distance prayerful and reflective practices from the noise of the world. [That couldn’t be further from the truth!] . . . European domination in Africa and in other nations elicited the silence of those captive cultures. . . . Some of us allow [silence] to fully envelop and nurture our seeking; others who have been silenced by oppression seek to voice the joy of spiritual reunion in an evocative counterpoint.
As frightening as it may be to “center down,” we must find the stillness at the core of the shout, the pause in the middle of the “amen,” as first steps toward restoration. [1]7
The restful place of nourishment offered us by the Love of God may be appreciated in the contemplation of silence.
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