Wicker Baskets
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August 2, 2020“When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” (Mt 14:13)
Yesterday’s gospel reading recounted the murder of John the Baptist by Herod and ended with the statement that his disciples buried his body and went to tell Jesus. Today, Jesus’ withdrawal to a deserted place is prompted by this event. He feels the loss. He needs time and space to ponder and digest. We too, after burying the body of our sister, need to ponder an experience as rich as the life and death of Sr Perpetua; we need digest all that is in our hearts. It was a special gift that the time of her death coincided with the time of our retreat, so that watching and pondering could occur at a time of quiet, in a deserted place.
“When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” (Mt 14:14)
Jesus’ retreat is met by an unexpected intervention. The crowds find out where he is and arrive en masse, a great congregation of need, crying out to his heart. Our retreat, too, met with an unexpected intervention when Sr Perpetua began to fail. We too were called by the voice of God speaking in reality to adjust our plans and change our focus. Our hearts were called to her bedside, and to remain close to her in thought even when we weren’t with her physically. We were called to make plans for a funeral, and a somewhat unusual one at that, under conditions of lockdown. Now, we move out of retreat into daily life, with its demands. As Dom Brendan pointed out to us during retreat, being is of greater weight for the contemplative than doing. But this does not mean we give up one altogether for the sake of the other. No, being is not claimed to the exclusion of doing. Being exists within doing. So, in other words, we take up our daily tasks and seek within them the stillness of heart that is our deserted place.
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” (Mt 14:17)
Jesus challenges his disciples to give what they have, no matter how small. He takes this gift and multiplies it. We too often find ourselves seeming to lack the resources we need to go forward in life. This may hit more strongly as we emerge from a time of retreat. We look with discouragement and disbelief at what we have in our hands and hearts, thinking that it will never do to meet that challenges that lay ahead of us. Jesus allows himself to be called by God’s voice speaking in reality to the exercise of the compassion of his heart. We too can allow the reality of daily tasks and other people’s needs to evoke more from us that we think we have. If we allow compassion to open our hearts, we can find our empty hands filled beyond our expectation.
“They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.” (Mt 14:20)
The riches of our retreat can seem too much to process, too big for our small capacity. I for one often feel the need of a second retreat to process what happened during the first! But if we store these fragments in wicker baskets, they will be there, in time, to fill every need as it arises. So, let us go forward from the deserted place where we sought refuge and renewal, into the demands of the daily. Let us keep seeking the deserted place within where we have stored up fragments of the abundant gift we have received. We can rely on these provisions for the ongoing nourishment of our spirits and that of others.
