Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

You may have heard about the man who went to his doctor with concerns about his health. “I feel terrible,” the patient said. “When I look into the mirror, I see a balding head, sagging jowls, a pot belly, bloodshot eyes…I'm a mess! I need to hear some good news.” The physician replied, “Well, the good news is you have perfect eyesight.”

The word of God carries us back in our imaginations to two great 9th century prophets of Ancient Israel, Elijah and Elisha. These two often railed against Israel’s “bad” kings: criticizing their lack of moral character, their infidelities to the Covenant and their worship of creaturely things rather than their Creator-God. The amazing Elijah, so Hebrew tradition goes, was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, with a fiery chariot and fiery horses, and would reappear just before the long-awaited Messiah.

In today’s passage, an unknown man brings loaves of bread to the prophet Elisha. Why? They are to be offered to God. But Elisha surprisingly directs that the loaves be given away to the hungry people, a sign of God’s providence or care for us. The author may be asking whether we acknowledge God’s generosity to us and  how generous are we with what we have, especially to the needy.

Paul writes from prison to the Christian community in Ephesus, Turkey, urging them to live a life worthy of their calling as sons and daughters of God our Father. Paul challenges the Ephesians to practice virtue, to be humble, forgiving, kind and thoughtful, patient, loving, peacemakers. And then Paul concludes, remember what binds us together: our allegiance to one Lord, our commitment to one faith, and our celebration of one baptism.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus mesmerizes the people with signs and wonders. In this passage, the author describes the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the loaves alluding to the Eucharist. Notice the words Jesus says.  He “took,” “gave thanks,” “distributed.” Many people in this sign recognized Jesus as the long-awaited prophet who would usher in the messianic age.

The theme of hunger weaves in and out of the Old and New Testament. So many people today hunger not only for bread, but they also hunger for basic human rights, for freedom, for peace and yes, for God.

Pope Francis continually challenges us to satisfy the different hungers of the human family, to practice the corporal works of mercy.

The most concrete teaching of Jesus about how to treat people can be found in his depiction of the Last Judgment in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. Jesus proclaims that we will be judged by our positive response to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the prisoner.

Yes, Jesus emphasizes that we love God to the extent that we care for our fellow human beings.

But how care for one another? A blueprint can be found in the seven corporal works of mercy. Many of you know these:

Feed the hungry. Jesus commands us to feed the hungry. In doing so, we feed Jesus himself. According to the latest United Nations report, 815 million people go hungry each day. And millions more are at risk from malnutrition. We might contribute to organizations like Catholic Relief Services. The war in Syria, e. g., has uprooted more than 11 million people, with hundreds killed just last week. The need for humanitarian aid in Syria alone is overwhelming.

Closer to home, we might feed intellectually hungry children by mentoring them, e g., in reading or writing skills. We might volunteer in religious education to nurture youngsters in their hunger for God. There are countless opportunities to feed the hungry: physically, intellectually, spiritually, socially.

Second: give drink to the thirsty. We have a responsibility to care for this planet of ours, to be good stewards of God’s universe, to look after our “garden,” so to speak.

Pope Francis in his letter, “Laudato Si” (“Praise to you, O Lord”) urges us to care for our common home, this earth. Water and energy conservation and re-cycling, e. g.,  can demonstrate that we care about God’s creation.

Clothe the naked. Jesus says we should clothe the naked. What about a summer closet-cleaning? Do we really need all those clothes? Why not donate to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store?

Shelter the homeless. Human beings deserve the dignity which come from having a place to come home to. Yes, government should provide systemic solutions to minimize the causes, e. g., meaningful work. But we also can volunteer or support, e. g., Habitat for Humanity or Catholic Charities which creates homes for needy families.

Visit the sick. Jesus commands us to visit and comfort them with hope. The sick, especially the terminally ill, need our presence. A short visit can do wonders. Our presence allows them to talk about their lives, and to transcend feelings of loneliness.

Ransom the captive. Connected to this is the fight for human rights: including political and religious freedom, the right to economic conditions that foster dignity and the right to an environment conducive to raising a family. We need to stand up for the right of the unborn to life, and the right of the elderly to die with dignity.

Another dimension of this call is concern for people in our prisons. We can visit to show someone cares, to share faith, to teach, to pray.

Finally, there is the work of mercy to bury the dead. Franciscans celebrate every year the Transitus (or passing) of St. Francis of Assisi on October 3. It is a moving celebration about own pilgrimage from this earth through the mystery of death into eternal life.

It is natural to mourn someone’s passing. We might reach out to mourners, not just at the funeral, but through the grieving process.

With a lively imagination, we can think of a hundred and one ways to practice the so-called corporal works of mercy in our daily lives as Jesus calls us to do. On the day of judgment, all of us want to hear God say to us: Come, inherit the kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; ill and you cared for me.

Yes, how we live today has profound–indeed eternal–consequences for us. Don’t live a life of regrets. Our everyday lives are not a dress rehearsal; it’s the “real thing”; and to the extent that our lives are in our own hands, do good now, not later.