5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Agatha
First reading – Isaiah 58:7-10
“Share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, clothe the man you see to be naked and do not turn from your own kin. Then will your light shine like the dawn”. It’s a very clear message of how to become the light of the world as the gospel today is announcing. Only one word is to underline. Share your bread with the hungry. The word is “your”. Here we are not speaking about giving bread to the hungry. This is about sharing. And it’s about sharing our bread. That means, “I eat less, and I give a share of what I should have eaten, to the one who is hungry”. There is a world of difference between giving food to the hungry and sharing my food with the hungry. You become light when you recognize the difference and share your bread with the hungry. Helping the poor is easy and fancy when it is not sharing our own bread and our own house. It becomes Christian when we share our bread. We become followers of Christ when we share from what we have. That is when our light shines like the dawn. Light of the dawn is something which comes out of the darkness. This act of sharing of our bread with the hungry is like that because it is something that comes from the darkness of our ego and selfishness. Let’s reflect: Am I sharing my bread with the hungry or am I just giving some bread with the hungry from what is surplus?
Sunday 5 February
