Fourth Sunday in Lent, or Laetare Sunday, March 10th, 2024
The Gospel for Laetare Sunday comes from the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gospel. As we begin this passage St. John tells us of the large crowds that have followed Our Lord due to them hearing about the many people that He has cured. Our Lord's fame has grown far and wide due to the many miracles that He has performed. And many of those gathered want to not only to see Him but to hear what He has to say. Now the first thing that should strike us when we hear the story of Our Lord feeding the multitude is that Our Lord is a compassionate Lord. He knew that these people that gathered together to hear Him and to get just a glimpse of Him would be tired . . . would be hungry . . . would need to be sustained and nourished. And He called together the disciples and inquired what would need to be done. Now, we all know what happened next. Our Blessed Saviour multiplied the five loaves and the two fish into feeding the multitude.
What I would like to focus on is what Our Lord did after everyone was fed. He called together the disciples and told them: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." (St. John 6:12) Sometimes our lives feel like "fragments," in a sense. We run here. We run there. We take care of our families. We take care of our home. We go to our jobs. We go shopping for what we need. The list goes on and on. As a result, we feel like we are running around from one place to the next, going from doing one thing into something completely different. I know I feel this way very often. And I talk to so many people that feel the same way. Our lives are divided between this, that and the other. But the important thing to remember is that God takes our "fragments" and makes them whole. Just like Our Blessed Saviour fed and nourished the five-thousand, He feeds and nourishes us still today. Just like He saw the vast multitude gathered around Him, He still sees us in need of His strength to carry on our daily lives. And He is that strength. He is the One Who nourishes us. He is the One Who sustains us. He is the One Who makes us whole. He takes the fragments of our lives and makes our life complete. There is no other person, thing, or feeling in the world that can make us complete. There is only one person who can do this for us. And that is God. Give your heart to Him. Let Him be your nourishment. Let God be your sustaining force. Let Our Blessed Saviour be the One you run to in order to be fed.
What I would like to focus on is what Our Lord did after everyone was fed. He called together the disciples and told them: "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." (St. John 6:12) Sometimes our lives feel like "fragments," in a sense. We run here. We run there. We take care of our families. We take care of our home. We go to our jobs. We go shopping for what we need. The list goes on and on. As a result, we feel like we are running around from one place to the next, going from doing one thing into something completely different. I know I feel this way very often. And I talk to so many people that feel the same way. Our lives are divided between this, that and the other. But the important thing to remember is that God takes our "fragments" and makes them whole. Just like Our Blessed Saviour fed and nourished the five-thousand, He feeds and nourishes us still today. Just like He saw the vast multitude gathered around Him, He still sees us in need of His strength to carry on our daily lives. And He is that strength. He is the One Who nourishes us. He is the One Who sustains us. He is the One Who makes us whole. He takes the fragments of our lives and makes our life complete. There is no other person, thing, or feeling in the world that can make us complete. There is only one person who can do this for us. And that is God. Give your heart to Him. Let Him be your nourishment. Let God be your sustaining force. Let Our Blessed Saviour be the One you run to in order to be fed.
Please make a point to join us for Mass on Sunday. St. Margaret Church gathers together each and every Sunday at 10:30 am. We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible. We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. And receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Saviour at Communion time. We are all busy. We all lead busy lives. Take an hour out of your busy week and dedicate it to God. Give that hour to God and spend it with Him
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