What is your favorite food or meal?
What does eating good food do for us?
Have you noticed how often our Scripture readings talk about Jesus feeding the crowds and having meals with his friends? Just last Friday the gospel reading from Matthew described Jesus feeding the 5000 men plus everyone else all the bread and baked fish they could eat…with 12 basketful of leftovers besides…all from just five small barley loaves and two fish shared by a young boy. Jesus ate with everyone—the rich and the poor, tax collectors and sinners, and with His disciples.
In today’s gospel from John, we hear about the resurrected Jesus again feeding his apostles on the shore of Lake Galilee—kinda like a picnic. Knowing that they are exhausted after a whole night of fishing without catching anything, Jesus prepares a simple meal of fish and bread for them to show His love and to remind them that He cares for them and is their source of spiritual nourishment.
Jesus feeds us also here at Mass—feeds our minds, our hearts, and our faith with Holy Scripture AND for you for the very first time…with His Body and His Blood in Holy Eucharist. We need this spiritual food to strengthen our faith, knowing that God loves us so very much that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to suffer and to die for our sins so that we can be with God forever in heaven if we choose.