Recommended Book: First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians - Kindle Edition (get Kindle app for phone) (paid link)
In one poignant Resurrection account (John 21),
Jesus prepares breakfast for His disciples. Having fished all night without
success, they are weary, frustrated and hungry. First Jesus directs Peter
to throw the net over starboard, which results in a large haul. Then Jesus
cooks up some fish. "Come," He says to His disciples, "and
eat your meal." What exquisite sensitivity to their needs! What delicate
attention to their situation! Do we realize that Jesus treats us the same
way? Each and every day He invites us, "Come and eat your meal."
When are hearts are heavy with care and sorrow, when our bodies are weary
with pain, when we feel we can't take one more step and just want to sit
down and call it quits, Jesus says to us, "Come and eat your meal."
When our days are drab and dreary and our nights dark and long, when our
friends fail us and our enemies hound us, when we are distracted by the
passing fancies of the world and can no longer pray, Jesus says to us, "Come
and eat your meal."
When our passions frighten us and our sins disgust us, when our lack of
progress and growth discourage us, when life overwhelms us and self-pity
and resentment creep in, Jesus says to us, "Come and eat your meal."
When nobody understands us, when our lives appear to be useless and we doubt
our ability to make a difference in this world, when we wonder why life
has to be the way it is, Jesus says to us, "Come and eat your meal."
When the future looks bleak, when the unknown terrifies us, when fear and
anxiety beset us, when our problems confound us, when peace eludes us, Jesus
says to us, "Come and eat your meal."
Knowing well the hungers of our human hearts, Jesus provides for them all,
carefully, tenderly, lovingly. In His Word, He feeds us with His truth and
wisdom. In the Eucharist, He feeds us with His body and blood. In Reconciliation,
He feeds us with His forgiveness and healing. In our human relationships,
He feeds us with His friendship and joy. In the Father's creation, He feeds
us with His beauty and delight. Day after day, we hear Jesus say to us,
"Come and eat your meal." Let us feast with Him at the table of
love He sets for us in our daily lives. Then we will say, in gratitude and
joy, "It is the Lord!"
Alice Claire Mansfield
© April 1993