(Is.55:1-3; Ps.145:8-9,15-18; Rm.8:35,37-39; Mt.14:13-21) "The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season." And the song of David, and the prophecy of Isaiah, are fulfilled in Jesus and the heavenly banquet He sets before us this day. For the Lord "open[s] His hand and satisf[ies] the desire of every living thing"; "without paying and without cost" all come to His table to eat. "You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat." The "rich fare" the Lord provides cannot be bought with money, for the earthly food "fails to satisfy." Only that paid for by the blood of the Son gives life; in His sacrifice we find "the everlasting covenant," the union with God and with His love which all our souls desire. And we know, as Paul testifies, that nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Does Jesus not give witness to the love of God today? Does He not show that "the Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works"? For though "He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself," though He sought to be alone with His Father in prayer, when followed by the crowds He took pity and "cured their sick." And though He had been with them all the day and evening drew on, when the disciples urge Him to "dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves," Jesus responds: "There is no need for them to go away; give them food yourselves." And He feeds them, without cost and without discriminating between one and the next. All sit at His table today; and we are told that "all ate and were satisfied." And why not? For the bounty of the Lord is indeed the richest fare. Do we follow Jesus as diligently as these in the wilderness, brothers and sisters? We know the food He provides us now every day. And we have been shown clearly that "the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Let us partake well of this feast set before us, which gives us now a foretaste of heaven. Freely let us come to Him, and be fed by His holy hand. And our expectant souls shall be forever satisfied, for His hand is always open. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Whole Whale" (first third) from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let our lives this day be in line with your will, united to the glory of your only Son. YHWH, let us not store up treasures for ourselves, but think rather of you and the salvation of others. All is indeed vanity if like Qoheleth we set our sights on what is on earth, if we are preoccupied by our possessions. For these shall rot with the lusts of the flesh and we shall die with them. But if we set our hearts on you and on the things that are above, where Christ is seated at your right hand, then we shall be blessed with life everlasting. Your Son calls us to glory with Him in Heaven. He warns us of the emptiness of this earth and the riches hereon. He would turn our eyes to you and away from all greed and selfishness. He alone can prosper the work of our hands, LORD, for without Him we pass like the changing grass and nothing comes of our days. O LORD, let us not labor in vain but with the wisdom that comes from above, that we might not come to great misfortune but to eternal life in your presence. Remake us in the image of your Son.