Sister Maria Catherine Toon

Have you ever woken up famished from a good, hard sleep? On at least one other occasion when Jesus raised someone from the dead, Christ asks that she be given something to eat (Mark 5:43), and so he, himself, eats here. What a human thing to do, to attend to the needs of the body! Jesus’ actions point towards a truth that not only proves that he is divine (he does not need doors to enter a room) but that he is also human, with a body and soul that needs nourishment. When some argue that Jesus was just a really good person, or an exceptional teacher, or prophet, this passage is one of the places that illuminates the truth of his two-fold nature.

Since the kingdom of God is beyond human comprehension, Jesus’ parables each offer a dimension of the kingdom to help us understand it.

God wants us to desire the right things. In the readings, he approaches Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you. Ask and you will receive,” Jesus echoes (Matthew 7:7).