Waiting in Joyful Hope

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

It’s a look in the eyes—simple, trusting, innocent, almost pleading.  The psalmist must have known it: “The eyes of all look hopefully to  you.” Do you know that look? 

I recall one day when I was trimming the fat off of a ham. I opened  the door to the garage with a plateful of scraps. Our dog, Heikki, sat  waiting. His big brown eyes looked hopefully at me. His tail wagged.  Something tasty was coming! 

Another day, the smell of brownies fills the kitchen. The timer  rings. Ten-year-old Samadhi dashes around the corner and her big  brown eyes look hopefully at me: are they done yet? Something  delicious is coming! 

What about the ten thousand hungry eyes in that deserted place  in the Gospel? Might they have had that same pleading, hopeful  look as Jesus looked up to heaven, said the blessing and broke the  loaves of bread? Something good was coming! 

I remember my mom standing in the front hall at the storm door  watching for family to arrive for Christmas. Her blue eyes brimmed  with expectation. She waited in joyful hope. Someone beloved was  arriving! 

Have you seen that look? Do you have that look? 

Like the people in that deserted place, we get hungry. We get  thirsty. The sun is hot and the wait is long and we are not satisfied.  When troubles come, sometimes we turn our eyes inward, clench  our fists, and get stuck in anxiety and worry that swirls round and  round inside. 

In our thirst, we could instead look up, wag our tails, and dash  around the corner with a look in our eyes that something more is  coming. We wait in joyful hope. Someone beloved is coming! 

“You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living  thing.” We are fed, deliciously.

Consider/Discuss 

  • At our Sunday liturgy, we open wide our hands to receive Jesus in the  Eucharist. What “look” do we have in our eyes at that time? 
  • We live in a culture inundated with self-absorbed anxiety. How do “being  thirsty or hungry” for God and “being anxious” differ? What does our  response to trouble reveal about where (and from whom) we expect to find  answers? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, you are near to all who call upon you. You ask us to pay  attention, to be aware, to come to you, source of living water. Open  our clenched fists, for why should we hang on to the anxiety and  worry that do not bring us life? Help us to lift our eyes to you and  wait in joyful hope. You give us more than we could ever ask for:  overflowing baskets full of abundance.

Living the Word logo

Copyright © 2021, 2020, 2019, 2012, 2011, 2010 World Library Publications, a div. of GIA Publications, Inc. www.giamusic.com
All rights reserved. Used by permission.