GOSPEL POWER- DECEMBER 2, 2020 - 1ST WEEK OF ADVENT

Gospel: Mt 15:29-37 

After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?” Jesus asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

REFLECTION

T he two readings of today’s liturgy are tightly woven together by similar images to depict the theme of promise and fulfillment. In the reading from Isaiah, the Lord of hosts sets a banquet on the mountain and wipes away the tears from all faces, as he removes the reproach of his people from the whole earth. In the Gospel, Jesus goes up on the mountain and there heals, restores people to wholeness, then feeds them. In Jesus, God’s faithfulness took on human flesh and lived among us. Jesus is God’s “yes” to all his promises (2 Cor 1:20). In a world of broken promises and abandoned commitments, we can always look to God and not be disappointed. For God is dependable… a keeper of promises.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, in you we can be certain that the pledge of “forever” is real. Amen.