Gn 14:-20 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Lk 9:11-17
A little boy was peering up at a full moon, when he asked, “Mom, is God in the moon?”
“Yes, Billy,” she replied. “God is everywhere.”
“Is he in that flower over there?”
“Yes, he is, son.”
“Well, is God in my tummy?”
“Yeeesss,” said his mother, not sure where this was leading.
“Mom,” said Billy, “God wants a ice cream cone!”
+ + +
Little children aren’t the only ones who get hungry. We’re all hungry in so many ways. And ice cream cones and big rare steaks can fill our some of empty places for quite awhile. But our really big hungers are for more than that. Our big hungers are for love that lasts, for friendships that won’t go away, and for someone special to comfort us when we’re sad and hold our hand when we die.
Jesus is the only one who can satisfy those really big hungers. He’s our brother, and He gave us His own Body and His own Blood to be food for our journey and medicine to heal our hearts.
Will this powerful medicine and this holy food that we receive at every Mass actually heal us and make us strong? Or will it just pass through us — like a Big Mac — and disappear without a trace? It all depends on us.
If Jesus finds an open, trusting heart when He comes to us, He’ll be able to get inside us and heal the parts of us that are hurt. He’ll be able to comfort the parts of us that are sad, lonely, or afraid. And He’ll be able to make us strong and full of energy for life.
In just a little while, at communion time, Jesus will come to the door of each of our hearts and ask us to let Him in. Will He find us too distracted or too busy to notice Him? Will we brush Him off so that He passes by without leaving a trace? Or will we invite Him in and spend some time with Him, listen to what He has to tell us and feel His touch which changes everything?
Just a few minutes after communion we’ll all march out of church. Some of us will be changed — happier, fuller, more at peace, with more energy for life. And some of us will not.
Which will we be, the “haves” or the “have-nots”? It all depends on us.
