This translation is from the New American Bible. The bolded hyperlinks will take you to additional translations of today’s readings, other relevant scriptures, and collections of scriptures addressing related principles. Text highlighted in yellow tells us something about God’s nature or our relationship to Him. Text in green tells us about something God wants us to do. Text in red describes things we should avoid. Commentary is in blue.
Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!
As in today’s gospel, we are called to come to God in ways/circumstances that are contrary to human/societal expectations.
And also like today’s gospel, our doing that sets up situations for God to supernaturally manifest His power/goodness.
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.
This sounds a lot like the dynamic underlying Psalm 119:37.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.
This statement implies that the people God is speaking to have not held up their end of the covenant. God nonetheless makes this extraordinary offer of reconciliation. That same grace runs throughout Luke 15 and the other scriptures collected in Wisdom Principles—God Loves and Calls Us to Him, In Spite of our Sin.
R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your handand satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all whocall upon him to all who call upon him in truth.R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
This psalm touches on two dynamics that run through today’s first reading and gospel: (1) that God can and is eager to do far, far, more than we expect and (2) that we should therefore come to Him, seek Him out.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This reading describes another aspect of one of the principles that runs through today’s first reading, psalm, and gospel: that God’s love, goodness and power transcend earthly things and our understanding of them.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
God turns John’s murder to the good by using it to set up the scene of this miracle.
I wonder if God set this incident up to, in part, help Jesus and others through their grief over John’s murder.
- By getting Jesus and the disciples busy with something else to get their minds off the murder.
- By powerfully demonstrating that God’s mercy/love/power/plan continues in spite of the activities of sinful men.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
Jesus calls us to bring/give what we have to Him, regardless of how inadequate that may seem to us. This is consistent with what we saw in the last point discussed in connection with yesterday's readings and what see throughout scripture; God calls us to do whatever good we can do in our particular situations, as inadequate as those things may seem to us. God will turn what we bring to the maximum good.
Easter morning is a prime example of this. Mary Magdalene and the other women set out to do what good they could by seeking to anoint Jesus’ (in their view) dead body. That probably seemed very inadequate to overcome the overwhelming loss and the seemingly bleak future they faced. But they tried to do what they could, and their faithfulness in that small thing set them up to be part of one of the most momentous events in history.
Another aspect of this same dynamic is illustrated by the crowds fed here. They too faced tough circumstances, and responded by coming to Jesus. Their individual acts coming to this deserted place—acts that required faith/effort on their part and that probably seemed inadequate to cure all their problems—set up the circumstances for great blessing to them and to the millions/billions of folks who have heard about this since them.
All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat
come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant
the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
The LORD is gracious and merciful
slow to anger
of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
The LORD is good to all
compassionate toward all his works.
the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
you give them their food in due season
you give them their food in due season
you open your hand
satisfy the desire of every living thing.
the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
The LORD is just in all his ways
holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him
The LORD is near to all who call upon him
the Lord feeds us
he answers all our needs.
in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God
his heart was moved with pity for them
he cured their sick.
looking up to heaven, he said the blessing
looking up to heaven, he said the blessing
All you who are thirsty, come
You who have no money, come
Heed me
Come to me heedfully
Come to me heedfully
listen
look hopefully to you
call upon him
call upon him in truth.
followed him on foot from their towns
followed him on foot from their towns
give them some food yourselves
Then he said, “Bring them here to me”
looking up to heaven, he said the blessing
Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?
are all we have here
are all we have here
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