Today’s Scripture Readings

After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’ Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

In today’s readings, we see Jesus go up the mountain, a place where heaven seems closer, where hearts are drawn to mercy, where the presence of God meets the longing of souls.
Great crowds follow Jesus, bringing with them the broken, the blind, the mute, the maimed, the hurting. They climb with hope, bearing their pain and poverty and longing to be close to him. And Jesus, seated on the mountain, welcomes them. He heals. He listens. He meets them where they are.

This is Advent—a season of longing and aching hope. Like those crowds who climbed the mountain, we too climb, bringing our burdens, wounds, grief, and hunger for healing and wholeness. We come perhaps with little to offer, only “a few small fish” as the disciples say. But Christ does not ask us for what we do not have. He invites us to bring what we have and bring it to him.

In this moment, the mountain becomes an altar, and the offering of bread and fish becomes Eucharistic. Jesus takes, he blesses, he gives. All are satisfied. There is more than enough.
This is the quiet miracle of Advent: God comes not only in majesty but also in the ordinary offerings of our daily lives. He fills what is empty, blesses what is broken, and multiplies our smallness into abundance.

Let us bring all that we are, our weaknesses, our hopes, our whole hearts, and discover that Christ is already here, waiting to feed us with love that never runs out.