FOOD TO EAT, AND SOMETHING MORE BESIDES!
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
July 29, 2012
FOOD TO EAT, AND SOMETHING MORE BESIDES!
It’s been decades the alarum bells of an utter lack of food
to feed the hungry multitudes have been sounded over and over again. Years
ago, a movie entitled “Soylent Green”
took the form of a horror movie – depicting the absolute horrors of a time in
future when people would be literally forced to ingest tablets of food made
from other human beings.
In our insecurity, in our fears, in our anxieties, the human
family has, on occasion, acted in a way that is exactly the opposite of the
attitudes being raised by the readings – an attitude of trust, an attitude of
confidence and faith that the psalmist reminds us of: “ The hand of the Lord
feeds us; he answers all our needs.” (Response)
Those alarm bells have taken various forms throughout recent
history. And many of those forms are self-canceling and self-contradictory. We
have scientists and self-styled “saviors” of the human race, who work their
heads off trying to find ways and means, fair or foul, to reduce the population,
or at least prevent more births. But at the same time, we have the same
scientists trying their best to prolong life, look for ways and means to
“clone” the right people, or to produce “test-tube babies” or “designer babies” at
will, or on request, or on demand, for the right fee, of course!
Our human insecurity knows no limits, no bounds, no
safeguards, and, for many, no ethically binding rules! The very same people who
are worried sick of too many new mouths to feed, are frantically trying to stay
young and alive, for as long as they want, for as long as they could, in every
way and manner imaginable. In the Philippines and Indonesia, where skin
whitening products are making a killing, much more than any other Asian
country, this insecurity means doing one’s level best to change one’s color and
complexion, and being the eternally young person one is never meant to be at
least from the physical and natural viewpoint.
We are insecure beyond measure! We are uncertain beyond
belief! And this search for certainty and surety … this search for the coveted
“holy grail” of endless youth, renders everyone of us more prone to
self-centeredness and selfishness, and makes us think that we owe it to
ourselves to live happy and contented, wanting in nothing, and wallowing in comfort
and joy all the days of our lives.
Ironically, this is the very reason why we cannot bring
ourselves to think of others … why we cannot seem to live with the idea that
the world is limited, and that we ought to be sharing what it offers to more people,
born or unborn … the very same reason why insecure people that we are, we think
of ways and means to just sort of keep everything to ourselves, and refuse to
see even the possibilities of so many “Johnny-come-latelies” sharing what
appears to us as a shrinking pie.
We are not only insecure. We are also selfish and
self-centered. We are a sinful people, tainted by the lure and empty promise of
original sin.
I am also selfish. I am also self-centered. Like everyone
else, I want to have more and better things. And when I get them, I want to
turn them into things that never die, things that have no end, and things that
multiply of their own accord, preferably, and things that I won’t ever have to
share with others who have even more needs and wants and desires!
This is who we all are. No wonder then, that leaders are
tempted to follow the siren songs of personal prosperity and personal luxury
and comfort. The flight from the inner city districts towards the urban sprawl
and the suburbs are an indication of all this – to go far, far, far and away
from the madding crowds! No wonder big pharmaceutical companies that serve the
needs of a multi-national conglomerate had been very busy concocting drugs that
assure a hassle-free (read: legal or legit) way of preventing more conceptions
and more births, even if statistics upon statistics all over show what a
misguided principle it is right from the start!
Goods, possessions, riches, comfort, luxury, and everything
that can be touched, felt, and counted have all taken the uppermost level in
our hierarchy of desires. But today, our Opening Prayer puts us right into the
context of something higher, something better, something infinitely more
valuable than merely having and holding … We prayed, “God our Father … without you nothing is holy, nothing has
value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the blessings
you have given to the world.”
And we have the assurance of the Lord through the prophet
Elisha. Nothing can be held on to, forever, he says. Nothing can last forever.
We can’t multiply those gifts without giving them away and sharing them. We
can’t have our cake and eat it, too. We need to have a proper attitude towards
earthly goods and possessions. Like unto Elisha who told his court just as soon
as he received those gifts: “Give it to the people to eat.” Despite the
protestations of a servant, he insisted: “Give it to the people to eat. For
thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
But we’ve got a whole lot more in the offing. The miracle in
the gospel far outshines that mini miracle of Elisha, but which offers the
exact same message of the Lord. And this message is simply this … He is
in-charge. He is in control. And He knows what it is we need.
Like us, though, we have people like Philip who sounded the
alarm. “There is just too many of them,” he protested. “We can’t have enough,”
he, in effect, said.
But there was more than just grass in the field. And there
surely was more than just mouths to feed and stomachs to satisfy. There was
great care and love and solicitude from the Lord – the Lord of promise and
fulfillment. There was overflowing love and mercy and compassion from a
provident God. Are we to be surprised that there were left-overs in the end?
For I can tell you one thing …
“The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” He gives us what we need … food to eat, and more things besides!
Don Bosco Formation Center
Lawa-an, Talisay City
Cebu
10:00 AM
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