Come ... for what?

Scripture references

• Isaiah 55:1-3
• Romans 8:35, 37-39
• Matthew 14:13-21

Reflection

This may sound like a very strange question for a priest to ask, but I do wonder from time to time, 'why is it that people come to church on Sundays'?  Some people even come to church during the week, so what is it that draws them here?

Probably for most of us, the practice of attendance at Sunday mass comes from our parents who brought us to this church or to another place of worship from our earliest days.  For some, there is a sense of obligation still attached to attendance at Mass on Sundays, but there may just happen to be not a few for whom attendance at Mass is actually a pleasure: a time to visit with friends who we may not see during the week, a time to place our cares in trust and faith before our God, a time to be nourished with God's word and the Eucharist, a time to be reconciled and renewed in our commitment to live as disciples of Jesus in the world.

The scriptures remind us that God himself has issued a very special invitation for each of us, calling us to come to the feast he has prepared for us.  In a world where there is so much questioning about spirituality and faith issues, the divine response seems so simple, 'Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters' (Is 55:1).  Everything we could possibly want is offered freely for the taking, and yet there are too many young people in our world who still search in the wrong places for the answers to their questions.  There are too many adults who search in the wrong places for answers to their longings, and unfortunately there are those who try to provide assurances while we ourselves are not even sure of the true depth of the thirst we are trying to slake.

When all is said and done, what are people really looking for in life?  Perhaps we come to this place seeking wisdom.  Often we may come to find peace, or to search for answers.  Some may come to rekindle acquaintances, or we may come looking for the assurance of constant and abiding love.  Paul's question to the Church at Rome can easily be repeated for us today, 'Who will separate us from the love of Christ?' (Rom 8:35).

Some may actually find it hard to believe that anyone could love as deeply as the scriptures tell us God does.  For those who have experienced the pain of broken relationships or fallen victim to the fickleness of the human heart, it is often very difficult to trust that love can be possible, yet Christ gives us the example today of one who experienced the human emotion of grief when he heard of the death of John the Baptist (Mt 14:13) and yet was still able to provide the free gift of food for the crowds who came looking for him.

Sometimes we ourselves may feel compelled to be the Messiah, to fix the problems of those who come to us, but the true wisdom of our faith comes to alive when we understand that only God can restore life in the face of death.  Only God can provide the water which truly quenches our thirst.  Only God can provide food for our spirits which will sustain us in this life and the next (Mt 14:16), and when he does, there are always leftovers to be shared with others.

We come to this place bringing all that we are, our questions, our gratitude, our longings and our gifts.  Let us receive here the precious gifts which God offers - food for our journey, friends to share the path, encouragement to strengthen us against the trials of life, and the assurance of a promise that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord (Rm 8:39).