THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Tuesday after Epiphany, 2022

1John 4:7-10

Ps 72

Mark 6:34-44

The Miracle of Love

Dear friends in Christ, if there’s anything one must not take for granted, it is the fact that God is love and very loving towards us that he treats us as his children, not for what we can give but for what he gives. The most profound sentence ever made about God is that “God is love.” This statement is beyond what we can fully comprehend considering what meaning the word has in the world of our time.

First reading (1 John 4:7-10) In this passage, the evangelist calls on his listeners, “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God…God is love.” Paul tells us what love is in 1Cor. 13:4-8, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

All love comes from God and leads to God. God created the sacrificing love of the mother and created the firm love of the father. He made the understanding love of friends and the passionate and ardent love of the newly wed, yet he also created the mature serene love in old couples. The love of the caring Nurse for the patient, that of the social worker, the teacher, the artist, and the priest all come from God and lead back to God. The proof of God’s love goes beyond a verbal profession, he gave His own Son for the salvation of the world. Those who are saved by his passion and death are called also to love their neighbors just as they have been loved by Jesus.

Gospel (Mark 6:34-44) In this Gospel passage, we find an astonishing miracle that has not been decoded by generations of followers. How could it have been possible, that five thousand men, not counting women and children were fed with five loaves and two fish and they had twelve baskets of scraps? But that is the amazing love and providence of God. The disciples knew not what was to come, they thought they were helping the master and the crowd by pleading with Jesus to let them go but it soon dawned on them that a new miracle of manna was to be performed in their presence and they were not just beneficiaries but participants in distributing the food.

God works this miracle daily even today in the miraculous catch of fish at sea, the multiplication of seeds on the farm, the success achieved at work, the unmerited peace in our homes, and the growth from childhood to adulthood. We are called to act like the apostles in not just keeping this to ourselves but becoming the agents of the distribution of the grace of God to all around us. Share the love of God, by sharing the gifts he has given you with others.

Let us pray: God our Father, we thank you for the many gifts you have bestowed upon us, grant us a merciful and generous heart to feed the thousands looking up to you in us. Amen. 

+Remain blessed