The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be attentive to the banquet of life in which we are called to material and spiritual care and feeding of all our brothers and sisters.
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah offers praise for God’s Deliverance and the Celebration in Zion
* [25:1–9] These verses praise God for carrying out his plan to destroy the enemy and to save the poor of his people in Zion (14:32), and they announce the victory banquet to be celebrated in the Lord’s city. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 25, n.d.)
Psalm 23 praises The Divine Shepherd
* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10). (Psalms, PSALM 23, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Cures Many People and Feeds the Four Thousand.
* [15:32–39] Most probably this story is a doublet of that of the feeding of the five thousand (Mt 14:13–21). It differs from it notably only in that Jesus takes the initiative, not the disciples (Mt 15:32), and in the numbers: the crowd has been with Jesus three days (Mt 15:32), seven loaves are multiplied (Mt 15:36), seven baskets of fragments remain after the feeding (Mt 15:37), and four thousand men are fed (Mt 15:38).
* [15:36] Gave thanks: see Mt 14:19, “said the blessing.” There is no difference in meaning. The thanksgiving was a blessing of God for his benefits. (Matthew, CHAPTER 15, n.d.)
Tamorah Whitney comments that the Lord provides. All the people in Isaiah come to the feast and are saved. The Psalm promises security and satisfaction. In the Gospel, Jesus heals the sick and feeds the hungry.
Our charge as Christians is to follow Jesus’ lead. We are charged to heal the sick and feed the hungry. I wish that was the case. I wrote last month in my reflection about how we should choose love instead of hate. I wish that was the case. I am so sad that the choice made was to not heal the sick, to not feed the hungry, and to hate instead of love. I wish that was not the case. (Whitney, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “The joy of the hope rooted in Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"Having said that the Lord will reign in Zion and Jerusalem, Isaiah leads us to the mystical meaning of the passage (Isaiah 25:6-10). Thus Zion is interpreted as a high place that is good for surveillance, and Jerusalem is the vision of the world. In fact, the church of Christ combines both: it is high and visible from everywhere, and is, so to speak, located on the mountain. The church may be understood as high also in another way: there is nothing low in it, it is far removed from all the mundane things, as it is written, 'I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!' (Psalm 47:7-8). Equally elevated are its orthodox and divine doctrines; thus the doctrine about God or about the holy and consubstantial Trinity is true, pure and without guile.
"'The Lord of hosts will make for all people,' not just for the Israelites elected for the sake of their patriarchs but for all the people of the world. What will he make? 'A feast of wines on the lees; they will drink joy, they will drink wine. They will be anointed with myrrh on the mountain.' This joy, of course, means the joy of hope, of the hope rooted in Christ, because we will reign with him, and with him we will enjoy every spiritual joy and pleasure that surpasses mind and understanding. By 'wine' he points to the mystical sacrament, that of the bloodless sacrifice, which we celebrate in the holy churches." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 25:6-7) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 25:6-10 shares that we can experience a foretaste of that banquet here on earth. When we receive the Eucharist, we are joined to Jesus sacramentally. The “veil” that separates us is destroyed (Isaiah 25:7), and we have communion with him. We receive the “rich food and choice wines” (25:6) that nourish us spiritually until we can experience the unimaginable richness of heaven.
We can’t all make it to daily Mass, but we can all get a sense of the glory of heaven, this close presence of Jesus, as we pray. So as you approach Christmas, let your prayer stir your longing for heaven. And the next time Jesus spreads the Eucharistic feast for you, receive him with joy! What better way to prepare for Christmas—and for eternal life—than by partaking of this heavenly food?
“Lord, help me to long for the heavenly banquet that awaits me!” (Meditation on Isaiah 25:6-10, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the interlude chapters 24-27 in Isaiah that describe a banquet in which God will nourish all the people of the world. The first multiplication of food had twelve leftover baskets, for the tribes of Israel. Friar Jude reminds us that, in Matthew, the feeding continues and the seven leftover baskets use the perfect number to indicate enough food to nourish all the people.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces contemplative and physicist Joy Andrews Hayter affirms a mystical oneness at the heart of the cosmos.
Whether you call it Sacred Unity, God, Universe, Ground of Being, the Source, or One, it is not out there somewhere, but is written into what we are and where we are…. Where could the Source of this loving, relational reality, the luminous web connecting all things, ever not be?
When we discover and live from the coherence in our being, we discover that we are in a relational field with all beings, with a mystical spark at the center that connects us all. Merton saw this clearly at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, [when he realized “the gate of heaven is everywhere”] [2] and Teilhard de Chardin saw this and his writings are permeated with it. In Cosmic Life, he said, “To live the cosmic life is to live dominated by the consciousness that one is an atom in the body of the mystical and cosmic Christ.” [3]…
Just as all began (from the Big Bang, or the Word, depending on whether you are talking about physics or the New Testament) and expanded into the myriad forms that are permeated with the One, all returns to Oneness, which could be described as the cosmic Body of Christ. [4] (Rohr, n.d.)
We contemplate the wonder of the people in our lives and celebrate our opportunities to get together and recognize how Providence has enriched our lives.
References
Isaiah, CHAPTER 25. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/25?6
Matthew, CHAPTER 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/15?29
Meditation on Isaiah 25:6-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/12/04/1145025/
Psalms, PSALM 23. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/admiring-the-divine-handiwork/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=dec4
Whitney, T. (2024, December 4). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/120424.html
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