June 4, 2010
The Second Half
Simple truths
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
We were standing in the driveway talking to friends of ours; Jim and his wife Christy. Jim is a farmer and a pilot. He told us a true story of something that happened one warm fall evening when he flew a small plane back from Cleveland. It had gotten dark by the time he was flying directly over the local high school football field where a game happened to be in progress. Careful to stay high enough to abide by aviation regulations, Jim flew down closer to watch the game. That’s when something strange happened. He turned his plane west into a very stiff wind and found the small plane could make absolutely no headway against the wind. It stayed aloft, but sort of flew in place above the field for a short time and then the wind actually pushed the plane backwards. Jim circled around another way back to the landing strip on his farm.
The spectators on the ground took note and the next day a headline something similar to the following appeared in the local paper: “UFO Hovers Over Football Field.” Jim tried to set the record straight. He explained the “UFO” to many people. Some laughed, relieved to know we weren’t about to be invaded by aliens. Others actually got angry, saying no plane could fly backwards and they knew what they had seen. They preferred to trust their own outrageous misjudgment rather than accept the simple truth.
We are amazed at the way God uses the simplest of things to try to help us grasp truth beyond our understanding. In a small reading of fewer than 60 words from Genesis, we find Melchizedek, who was both a king and a priest of the God Most High. He lived in Salem, thought by many to be the city later called Jerusalem. Abram was returning from battle when Melchizedek took bread and wine, went out to meet him and, in the name of God, pronounced a blessing on him. Abram responded by giving Melchizedek a tithe of everything he had.
Melchizedek and Jesus were both king and priest. Melchizedek nourished Abram with bread and wine while Jesus became bread and wine to nourish us. Both came bearing blessings in the name of God. Like Abram, when we realize how graciously we have been blessed, we can only respond with gratitude, offering everything we have to God. The pattern is repeated when the Israelites, hungry in the desert, are given manna to sustain them physically, and the presence of God to guide them spiritually.
Jesus, when faced with a hungry crowd, did the most obvious thing. He fed both their spiritual and their physical hunger. Never mind what appeared to be too small a quantity of fish and bread. With a little organization, a profound connection with heaven, gratitude and faith enough to begin, what appeared to be not enough became more than was needed. Many people have tried to create explanations for what happened that day. The simple truth is that whenever Christ is present, there is always more than enough.
Simple truth flies in the face of headwinds, looking for a place to land. We prefer stories of UFOs and refuse to believe what God keeps trying to tell us.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.