Waiting in Joyful Hope
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:1–3 / Psalm 145:16 / Romans 8:35, 37–39 / Matthew 14:13–21
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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.