REFLECTION by Dianne Bergant CSA

In this reading, we are reminded of God’s providence. We live in a world that feeds us and shelters us and supplies us with everything that we need to grow and to thrive, and all of this comes to us from the hand of God. It is usually when we are in desperate straits that we become painfully conscious of our dependence on God, but this dependence is always there. God does not merely intervene when we are helpless; God's providence operates in our lives at all times.

Living in a society that promotes individualism, we sometimes undervalue the communal dimension of life. God certainly cares passionately for each of us (not even a sparrow falls without God knowing it), but God's concern is for the whole people. We are first and foremost members of a people. We would never have seen the light of day, we would not endure or develop, without others. As unique as we may be, we are a unique expression of a communal reality. God created a race; God formed a people; Jesus died for the world. By the grace of God, we belong to the community.

As members of the people of God, we are called to a way of life that is noble, not selfish. We are to live with each other in humility and gentleness, with patience. We are to bear with one another in love. Through baptism we all live by the same Spirit of Jesus; we are all united through the bond of God's love. The bread that we receive from the hand of God is the bread of full life, life in all its dimensions, life in Christ.