All sorts of food in Christ
For all of us, the meal and gathering together is so crucial to the sense of belonging—of home—of welcome—security. The fabric of family life is woven around the dinner table. There is almost an innate hunger to have that time together for it builds intimacy, belonging, trust, and comfort.
Yet, the challenges for meal time together, especially for our young families with children, are huge. God bless our young parents today with all the dropping off and picking up, all the activities that demand being in six places at the same time. Frequently the last place to be is together around a dinner table too often lost and sacrificed in the rush and busyness that unfortunately is consuming family life today. Parents tell me they have to make a priority of time as a couple without the children. Then there is the battle to force family time to eat together—to make it a real priority.
For dining together, hospitality can express love or concern. It is a way we extend comfort, or touch the life of another person. It is an important aspect of family togetherness.
Such a lesson comes from Jesus over and over in our gospels. Jesus gives the meal-time, the togetherness, God-like importance —it is no exaggeration to say that a hallmark of his ministry centers on food and eating together. He ate with all sorts of people and united them—just as in our gospel today.
“Cast your nets on the other side” he tells them¾and they do. Is he merely telling them to go back to fishing? The miracle is more than mere fish. It is the model for us¾ of life by faith in just who Jesus Christ is and how he continues to connect us right here at every meal with him just as he did the disciples nearly two thousand years ago. Calling the disciples to come together—stop their busyness –sit down around the fire and eat with him. Then they see him for who he is—bread broken—love from the open fire and remember what he has done for us.
Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times is now being offered reconciliation by a triple affirmation of love. He would go from guilt to reconciliation with Christ, and under the Spirit’s influence, now he and the other disciples could offer the same forgiveness they had received. They would do for others what Jesus had done for them. Like Jesus, they would heal the sick; reach out to those who are foreigners; eat with society’s outcasts and offer peace to friends and opponents as well.
We also come in his name to be reconciled, forgiven in preparation for to receive his life-giving and renewing Spirit again whenever the priest extends hands over the gifts and prays, “Let your Holy Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
If we met the risen Lord today, as the disciples did that day by the lakeside I think he would ask his triple-question, “Do you love me?” Asking that we look at our family life, relationships, work, school, and in all aspects of our lives that reflect how we answer his question.
Our answer to Do you love me is how prepared we are to receive him as spiritual food and renew us in his Spirit. Then, because love always involves responsibility, he would add, “Since you love me, now go out and tend and feed my sheep” That is the contract, to serve him when we encounter another’s needs those who are sick, lonely, or wounded, sorrowing and defeated.
The meal to Jesus, Communion, unites differences, eliminates barriers, and expresses love. Many of our parishioners know this as they visit the homebound, persons in hospitals, and convalescent homes, to share the meal of Christ the hope of the Eucharist. They extend the meal from the altar to the bedside.
Others at Mass come up for a blessing at the sacred meal time due to unresolved issues—perhaps that of divorce and a marriage outside of the faith, for example. If any of you are holding back from the Sacraments due to divorce or separation or remarriage, or know people that are, please see me and find out the teachings of the Vatican II Catholic Church. Perhaps there are new possibilities for healing by the gift and wisdom passed to the Church by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps soon you too can come forward to break bread in the Lord through the loving gift of his real presence.
In Communion, we are called to acknowledge the holiness with one another around his table including those who need help to get to the table or be connected to the Eucharist by having Christ brought to them. It is the holiness in one another after we go from this table and into our everyday living to eliminate what separates us. We then help Jesus feed his lambs, tend his flock, and feed his sheep.
We are called to dine with him and not forget the association between what we do in church and what we do around the tables in our homes.
It may be difficult for those who cannot come to the table—but we are together in prayer and spirit—in the spirit of the love Jesus holds open to you. Let us pray for that unity in his spirit—– and strive to live what we share.
Blessed discipleship, Fr. Gordon