January 4: Tuesday after Epiphany

January 4: Tuesday after Epiphany

1 John 4:7-10 / Mark 6:34-44

God is love; Whoever loves knows God.

 An old woman suddenly began to have doubts about the existence of God. The woman couldn't understand why this was happening. Finally, she decided to go to a priest for help. "I'm having terrible problems with my faith," she confessed. “Is there anything I can do?” The priest's suggestion surprised her. He simply said, "Begin to love your neighbour more actively and more concretely." The priest's advice jibes with John's words in today's reading. John says, “Whoever loves ... knows God.”

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How do we handle faith questions or doubts when they arise? “I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother, and I found all three.” Anonymous

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Here comes the great theme of the apostle John, almost like an obsession, both in his letter and in the gospel: God is the origin of all love. For he is love: a love that is giving, a love, as the gospel shows, that is compassionate. Self-communication is the mark of love: within God, from God to people and the world. He gives us his Son, who showed in his person that to love is to give up oneself out of love. And on the part of people, love means also to receive, to be willing to accept love as a pure gift, both from God and from one another.

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Generally speaking, we have two types of reactions to a situation. Either we react to it emotionally, or we react to it rationally. When Jesus saw the large crowd, He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He set Himself to teach them at some length. It was understandable that Jesus felt for the people, or if we wish to say, He acted from His emotions. 

But it went to the extent that He ignored the rationality of feeding the crowd of 5000 with five loaves and two fish. His disciples seemed to be more rational, especially when it was going to cost them 200 days' wages, since the average wage for a day was 1 denarii. But Jesus challenged His disciples to gather what was available. And from what was available, out came a miracle.

Essentially, today's gospel passage continues the Epiphany message that God is our Helper and Provider. Yet like the disciples, we often use too much of our rationality. But what the Lord is asking of us is our availability.

 To serve the Lord is to make our hearts available for Him. Hence, we have to feel the promptings, especially the challenges the Lord is giving us, just like He challenged His disciples when He told them: Give them something to eat yourselves. It is not so much our rationality that matters when we serve the Lord, but rather our availability for Him to do great wonders through us.

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Prayer

Lord God, our Father, you took the initiative of loving us before we could ever love you, for love is your name and you are a God of people. Help us to recognize this love become flesh in Jesus your Son. Let him stir and transform the very depths of our hearts, that we too may offer to you and to people all the love of which you have made us capable through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen