Reflection for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There is an African tale about a man named John Shayo. John lived in a village at the base of the mountain where God lived. John was a good and devout Christian who helped the poor and needy, prayed every day, and struggled to live a good life.
But the village where John lived was a treacherous place, filled with thievery, cheating, fighting, drunkenness and discord. John decided to leave his village and make his home on the mountain where God dwelt.
It was a long, steep climb in the hot sun. Along the way John was startled to meet a bearded man making his way down the mountain. The two greeted each other. The traveller introduced himself as Emmanuel and said that he was going down to live in the valley below. John warned him of the dangers of his old village. Emmanuel thanked John and the two parted in peace.
After three days, John Shayo reached the summit of the mountain. He was awed by the peace and quiet of the place. But there was no God there. It was deserted. John called out “Where are you, God?”
Suddenly, a gaunt old man appeared and greeted John. “Rest, Son, from your long trip.”
“But, Father, I have come to find God the Peaceful One.”
The old man replied, “You met God on your way here. He was going down to the valley to make his home among the people.”
John was stunned. “That was God?”
“That was God. You see, God does not want to live here alone. He wants to be one with the human beings he created. That is the meaning of his name, Emmanuel- ‘God is with us.”‘
“But in the valley there are thieves and drunkards and evil men. Why does God want to live with them?
“Because God loves them all as his own. Where else should God be?”
John understood. And then John Shayo began his trip back down the mountain, and home.
In his feeding of the five thousand, Jesus -“Emmanuel” – creates a village of cooperation and trust. He takes one little boy’s gift and transforms that small act of generosity into a manifestation of God’s love. A little boy’s willingness to share his small lunch gives Jesus what he needs to miraculously feed the five thousand who have come to hear him. In imitating the little boy’s generosity, we can create community from estrangement, hope from despair, life from barrenness. That same “miracle” is realized every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist: the one bread and one cup makes one family of us. Eucharist is possible only when self defers to community, only when serving others is sought before being served, only when differences dissolve and the common and shared are exalted above all else.
That is the challenge of the Gospel and the mandate of the Eucharist that is foreshadowed here: to take up the hard work of reconciliation and compassion begun by God, the God who dwells here in our own village; to imitate the humility and servant hood of Emmanuel in our efforts to bring the peace of God’s dwelling place to our own homes; to become the body and blood of Jesus that we receive at his table where all -saints and sinners -are welcomed.