There was plenty of grass there, and
as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks
and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the
fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to
the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So
they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the
meal of five barley loaves.
John
6: 10a - 13
Toni turned into a great cook. She has
plugged away at recipe books left to her by her mother, aunts and grandmothers
as well as defining her own style. And where we once would regularly entertain
friends, we find ourselves welcoming our children and grandchildren for Sunday lunch.
It’s a new tradition, now seven years old. A great part of the day is spent
cooking (while someone else is kept busy scanning the world news) and the
result is a lavish feast. Cooks enjoy sharing their successes and are keen for
feedback. The recent cook-off on Master Chef saw a recording-breaking number of
viewers take their seats in front of the box! Cooking is indeed a skill well
worth possessing and growing, but without hospitality great food is just food,
another meal.
Once our visitors arrive there are drinks
to offer, appetizers and welcoming conversation about the events that have
moulded our week’s story. There is companionship, affability, homeliness and
the return of adult love and respect shared around a common table and
experience. These are moments to value.
One of the keys to Jesus’ ministry is
hospitality, to his disciples and to strangers. This is no more clearly evident
than in his feeding of the 5000 with no less than 5 barley loaves and two fish
(John 6:1 – 15). It is Jesus’ intention from the beginning that he provides for
them all, indeed there were twelve hampers full when they were finished. There
are, naturally, many layers to this story – it is Eucharistic, it is a
precursor to the heavenly banquet that awaits the faithful, it also reveals the
growing awareness of Jesus’ messiahship and his reluctance to be the kind of
messiah that the crowd was seeking.
John’s Gospel delights in its rich images
of bread and wine, and these become metaphors for Jesus himself, and in the
context of the Eucharist itself, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood
of Christ. The interplay is tantalising and fascinating. And the link is Jesus’
desire to offer God’s hospitality to all – we are all welcome to his table,
each of our stories is waiting to be heard, a banquet has been prepared, our
cups overflow and the rich conversation brings pleasure and joy.
We don’t need to put on a feast to be
hospitable. A cup of tea will do when we’re caught short. Extending hospitality
is something we learn, like the way we cook. We model it on our families and it
is a case of ‘doing to others as you would have others do to you’. It truly is
a Gospel value. While meals may be
memorable, the companionship of our friends and family around the table is the
stuff of life.
Writes Kevin Bates SM: Come to
my table, taste of my Word
Bring
me the life that you’ve lived.
Bring
in the dancing. Bring in the pain.
Bring
me the whole of your journey.
Peter Douglas
HEAD OF SCHOOL SERVICES, NORTH
WELCOME
BACK
A warm
welcome back to Term 3 to one and all. I trust you all return to work well rested. In particular I look forward to working
with Mary Wall at Our Lady of Mercy, Deloraine and Stewart Farr at Our Lady of
Lourdes – please make them welcome!
PETER'S WHEREABOUTS FOR NEXT TWO WEEKS:
MEETINGS COMING UP:
FROM STELLA MARIS:
FROM OUR LADY OF MERCY:
FROM SACRED HEART - LAUNCESTON:
FROM ST BRIGID'S:
FROM ST ANTHONY'S:
FROM ST PATRICK'S - LATROBE:
FROM LARMENIER:
FROM OUR LADY OF LOURDES:
FROM ST BRENDAN SHAW COLLEGE:
FROM SACRED HEART - ULVERSTONE:
FROM ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE:
FROM ST FINN BARR'S:
FROM ST THOMAS MORE'S:
FROM ST JOSEPH'S - QUEENSTOWN:
FROM ST PETER CHANEL:
FROM MARIST REGIONAL COLLEGE:
FROM LARMENIER:
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