This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
It is a relief that people of our age are so much better and more faithful to God than in Noah’s time; that there is no evil running rampant in our day.
Said no one, in any age, ever.
We observe the evil and misplacement of values in our time, and it is hard not to despair. We look at the punishment God meted out in Noah’s time, and we realize that it was perfectly just. Sometimes, perhaps, we even wish that God would enact a similar purge in our time.
But then, Jesus came. God, for all time, took a different tack–a tack of mercy. Evildoers will reap their just reward in eternity, but God exhibits an impossible amount of patience and mercy during the sojourn here on earth.
It is hard not to focus on faults–not only the faults of others, but also our own, as if these were the essence of the story. But they are not. Jesus’ power and love are the essence of the story. When we strive to give our “yes” to Him daily, even haltingly, in the midst of our many sins and shortcomings, He rushes in with His mercy and power to supplement our weakness, and transform us into His new creation.
The Noah story, where most of humanity got wiped out, makes sense. The introduction of Jesus into history, on the other hand, is forever surprising, unexpected–a gratuitous and definitive act of mercy on the part of God.
So it is that in today’s gospel, Jesus reproves the disciples for focusing on what is no longer relevant: their shortcomings. They neglected to bring bread. This was a gross lack of planning, responsibility, and consideration on their part, one might say. How could they forget to feed their Lord and Master, God Incarnate! And each other!
But then Jesus puts things in perspective, by reminding them of the multiplication of the loaves. “Do you still not understand?” He asks them, as if in disbelief. Do they still not understand how powerful He is to provide, and how their weaknesses and mistakes are irrelevant?
He may well say the same to us, when we wring our hands concerning our limitations and failures. “Do you still not understand?” Do we still not understand how overwhelmingly powerful this unexpected gift of the Word Made Flesh, and of His love, really is in our lives?
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus that at least now, at this moment, you do understand. Tell Him that you give Him your weaknesses and failures, both on the human and on the spiritual level. Tell Him that you believe in the power of His multiplication of loaves in your life–that you know too that He multiplies the good results of what you do and are, even though you don’t deserve it. Ask Him to increase in you the virtue of trust and hope.
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