• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: feed people

Impromptu Supper

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

disciples, feed people, gift of love, give, Jesus, loaves and fishes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the day when that formidable gospel appears. It’s a great miracle story – but has a twist that makes me groan and look inside myself every time. If I hear the words “feeding of the 5,000” I know I can’t just sail along to the end where everyone gets relaxed on the green grass and fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish until they’re more than satisfied. Jesus is interesting in this text from MK 6:34-44.

When the disciples come and suggest to Jesus that he send the people away after a rather long session of teaching so they can find food somewhere (and perhaps so they themselves can do the same), Jesus comes back with a challenge. “Give them some food yourselves,” he says. Imagine their surprise! How could he even think that was possible? They must have felt silly walking around asking everyone to contribute their meager meal to the huge crowd but they did what he asked. The results were not at all helpful: 5 loaves and 2 fish – for 5,000 people (men only!) but again they did what he asked, having them sit down in groups while Jesus said the blessing over the food and then distributing what became more than enough for everyone.

There’s so much to wonder about. Where did they get the baskets for distribution and collection of leftovers? How did that whole process of distribution start. “He broke the loaves…and divided the fish…” It reminds me of a family vacation where my father took my friend fishing and she came back with one very small fish that she joyfully cooked and distributed among the half-dozen people in attendance – a tiny but wonderful appetizer to the meal. A gift of love.

It doesn’t really matter, I guess, what is given as long as we do willingly what we believe we are being called to do. It is our “Yes” – spoken or not – that counts. God takes care of the rest.


A Broken Record

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

feed people, Jubilee Year of Mercy, love, Lump, merciful living, mercy, Pope Francis, Rob Bell, Sts. Peter and Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

alumpI finished up what I might call “a triduum of mercy” yesterday: three presentations of essentially the same material to different audiences, prompted by the fact that we are halfway through the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis last December. Yesterday I was reflecting with a group of high school teachers at the school where I began my own professional ministry 45 (!) years ago. I was heartened by each of these experiences because of the willingness of the participants to enter deeply into the process with me. I learned that their appropriation of the expansive nature of the quality of mercy was an integral part of their daily living and was understood as a movement of reciprocity with God, individual persons and the world. It went far beyond a plea to God to “have mercy on us” in forgiving our sin to an abiding certainty of relationship, illustrated in a brief video that ended our time together yesterday. The DVD Lump by Rob Bell, a story of a father’s love for his son, concludes with the following statements:

There is nothing you could ever do that could make me love you less. There is nothing you could ever do that could make God love you less. Nothing. Nothing…

I know I have come to sound like a broken record that keeps repeating the centrality of the message of love that is reciprocal and unstinting but it appears again today in the readings for this feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Jesus continues to ask Peter (and us) “Do you love me?” and then, receiving an affirmative response, directs him (and us) to feed people – to love people because of his (and our) love for God, keeping the energy of love flowing around the world and down through the ages. This, as I see it, is our task. This is merciful living, Godlike loving. This is the way to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 97,377 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,045 other followers

Recent Posts

  • The “O Antiphon” Meditations
  • Memorial to be held this Sunday
  • Mark your calendars
  • A note to readers
  • “Hope Springs Eternal…”

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Join 1,045 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...