Rev. Fr. Michael ADEBOLA

 

My dearest friends in Christ, today's readings reflect God's sincere hospitality borne out of utmost gesture of love. Examining it in a loose sense, it appears God's hospitality is directed towards the needy, the marginalized, the spiritually famished and those whose wrong choices have comprised their life's journey. However, assessing the readings indepthly, God's invitation and hospitality is for all. It is a free invitation. We can call it *DIVINE* *AWOOF* in typical Nigerian language. This invitation is God's sacrificial endeavour to ensure our physical and spiritual well-being. Implying that we, His creatures, have more to gain in this sacrificial outreach. Hence, our God is a God of hospitality.

 

In the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah, God calls everyone to a meal that nourishes and is yet accessible. The meal symbolizes the salvation that God is offering us. This salvation is free and accessible not until one loses it. When you lose it, you have lost everything. What appears cheap and within your grasp now, will later become unaffordable when wasted. Hence, the universal appeal echoes to all Christ's Faithful. Do not lose God's offer!

 

God is inviting us to a banquet He is preparing on his holy mountain as we shall encounter a seeming prefiguration of the banquet on the holy mountain in today's Gospel. Notwithstanding, it is pertinent to ask, of what value is a banquet if there is no invitation and a people to grace such banquet? God is not reckless and wasteful as we shall see in the gospel.

 

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, God calls us to come, even without money come! (Isaiah 55...) This invitation reveals that God is generous and accommodating to all.   It therefore demands a positive response from us. This means taking a right step towards embracing God's invitation.

 

Dear brothers and sister in Christ, if the first reading sounds unrealistic, the gospel reading concretizes God's earnestness about this banquet prepared for all present on the holy mountain. The occurring event before Jesus ministered to the people was a tragic one.  The announcement of the death of John the Baptist must have been an excruciating blow to Jesus. It is not easy to lose a loved one, even for God. Nevertheless, Jesus forged ahead to minister to the crowd who were helpless, dejected and spiritually, mentally and physically deficient. Matthew 14 vs 14 states that "as he went ashore, he saw a great throng and he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

 

 

 As if Christ sensed the physical toll of the long hours spent, when evening came, the disciples wanted to send the crowds away to fend for themselves but Jesus transformed the scenario from a potentially disordered and insensitive situation to a beautiful and more nourishing feast. Jesus said, "they need not go away; you give them something to eat." Matt 14:16. With five loaves and two fish brought to Jesus, He fed about five thousand men, besides women and children. If Jesus could meet their physical needs, isn't He capable of accomplishing more for all who honour His invitation to a far enriching banquet; a banquet that ensures eternity?* What God cannot do does not exist. The question for us is, are we sincerely willing to be part of that banquet when the time comes?

 

My dear brothers and sisters, God knows the challenges of life we encounter, He knows our present predicaments, God knows that we can become stranded and weighed down like the crowds in our Gospel today, that's why He is inviting us not just to a physical banquet, but to a lasting spiritual fulfilment. If your faith in God is only based on physical gains and material pleasure, it's a waste of purpose, resources and time; we are to aspire towards and choose what is more beneficial to our souls. Also, the gospel acclamation in reference to the day's message, is apt by reminding us that "man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt 4:4) 

 

My dear friends, from today's readings, let us learn to acknowledge and appreciate God's goodness. For all unmerited benefits and provisions from God, we need to acknowledge them and be grateful for them. This should spur us to love God and seek communion with Him more earnestly. Nothing temporal should actually separate us from the love of God.

 

Secondly, we should learn to practice true hospitality more than ever before. If God can be deeply concerned about our well-being, you and I need to imbibe the culture of true hospitality, especially in a society that is beginning to lose the value of sincere hospitality and care. Our society is becoming saturated with self-absorption and greed. Let us imagine the boy with five loaves and two fish was selfish and stingy, how could those gifts have reached Jesus to perform the miracle of feeding the five thousand?

 

 

In our society, almost everybody is fighting personal battles with burdens on our shoulders. In the face of this turbulence, the way forward is care, love, kindness and hospitality to one another. Jesus practically exemplified this throughout His ministry. In our Gospel today, Jesus remained composed, gentle and kind to the crowd in the midst of his mourning.

 

 

Many of us complain to the point of disregarding and neglecting God when we face some challenging situations in life. Remember the words of Paul in our second reading "who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (RM 8:35) Instead of complaining, appreciate his daily intervention and invitation.

 

 

May God fill us with an abundance of spiritual and bodily gifts and may his invitation bring us closer to the full understanding of the divine mysteries. Amen.