This Sunday we
celebrate the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The liturgical readings focus
heavily on the boundless, compassionate generosity of God and His ability to
turn human scarcity into absolute abundance. In our readings we hear about God’s
boundless generosity and His enduring love. The gospel is an excellent example
of the fact that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We begin hearing about
the death of John the Baptist. Jesus did not have much time to grieve this loss
as there was work to be done.
The Gospel continues
with the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus heals the crowds and
multiplies the five loaves and two fish to satisfy over 5,000 people. Jesus took
the bread, blessed it, broke it and shared it. This action foreshadows the
institution of the Eucharist.
As we take
time to pray this day let us remember Jesus’ humanity – he understood the pain
and suffering that comes from profound loss. Jesus reaches out with deep
compassion. Perhaps this is our call today – to reach out to others with deep
compassion.