Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
I’m a dad and I LOVE dad jokes. For instance, labelling unintentionally and unnecessarily repetitive things as being from the Department of Redundancy Department (DRD). Things like ATM Machines (the M in ATM stands for Machine) or saying I went to two different places (if you went to more than one place, of course they are different).
But sometimes being repetitive is necessary. As I said, I’m a dad, so I find myself constantly saying the same things over and over, hoping that this time, it will stick. No dad constantly repeats himself because he likes nagging. The constant recycling of advice comes from love. The readings this week totally show how God is that loving Father, repeating Himself in hopes that the lesson gets learned. Elisha feeds 100 people with a few loaves of bread, saying that the Lord will provide and there will be something left over. In the Gospel of John, Jesus feeds 5,000 men (they most likely had women and children with them, so Jesus actually fed WAY more than 5,000). When what was left over was collected, it filled 12 baskets.
So, what is God reinforcing by pulling stories from the DRD? God provides. It’s really that simple. We don’t bring anything to the table, really. Everything we have comes from God. And still, He calls us to table, knowing that he has laid out everything and there’s nothing we can bring…because whatever we brought He provided! He gives us free will, so we can bring ourselves…our ‘Yes.’
Just think about all God has provided; He gave us life and provided a paradise in Eden, He sent manna from Heaven to feed the Israelites as they wandered through the desert, and He made oil burn for eight days in the temple during the Maccabean revolt. Even today, we bring ordinary bread and wine to table and God changes them into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Why does God need to pound this message home with so many stories? Well…it’s because we too have our own DRD-supplied habits. We try to be self-reliant or we lose hope in God’s promise to always make sure we are safe and nourished. So, God gently reminds us, “I will provide for you.” We greedily lunge for the things God graciously gives us or we are dissatisfied with the blessings He bestows. So, God gently reminds us, “I will provide for you.”
Come to Mass on Sunday to receive God’s grace in abundance. Come to receive the Eucharist and the Word of God. Come to receive a community that will last for eternity. Come to receive all of the things you can’t get anywhere else. Come for all of these wonderful things that only God can provide.