When I was in the Peace Corps in our formation period in Thies, Senegal in 1989, preparing to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in the county of Guinea in West Africa, we celebrated Thanksgiving when that day came around. At the time, I was a vegetarian. While everyone one else there at the formation center got chicken with different side dishes to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, which was a huge luxury in Africa, we vegetarians got canned peas. That was our main dish - canned peas - nothing else. B. A friend of mine from the Peace Corps days still reminds me very humorously about the peas. Although, with many families in Africa being very vulnerable in regards to food, having regular meals there at the formation center and not worrying about going without food actually was a great luxury. This past Thanksgiving, as I celebrated with an amazing feast with the Carmelites nuns and some members our St Jude parish, I remarked that this abundance of delicious food reminded me of the feast described in Isaiah in today’s first reading. The readings from the prophet Isaiah are interpreted in our Christian faith as foreshadowing and preparing a path for the Lord. Thus, Isaiah is a prophet whom we will hear from very frequently during this holy season of Advent. I find it interesting that today’s reading from Isaiah proclaims that this banquet will provide for “all peoples,” not just for the people of Israel, his chosen people. God calls all of us to experience his love and his divine presence, no matter what our culture or age or status in society. I think of all the calamities that we read about in sacred scripture: droughts, floods, exiles, plagues, poverty, war, and diseases such as leprosy. We battle some of the same things in our modern world. Thus, it makes sense that an abundant banquet would speak to us in a very real way about the abundance of eternal life. In biblical times, only the very rich would be able to experience such an opulent banquet. In our own era, in the midst of poverty and hunger, such a banquet has profound meaning for us as well. What are some take-aways of today’s reading? Perhaps we can look at how our works of charity can provide a glimpse of God’s banquet to others. Also, it is a good reminder that during the season of Advent, we reflect upon not only Jesus’ upcoming birth at Christmas time, but also upon his second coming in the end times. May we never lose focus of these multi-faceted characteristics of our faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment