August 3, 2014
One of the reasons why this particular story became so important
for the Early Christians is that it reminded them of the miraculous meal they
celebrated regularly when they gathered for the breaking of the Bread.
Could you not hear the Eucharistic implications in Matthew’s
account: he took the bread … he blessed … he broke it and gave it to them.
Two thousand years later we still gather in Christian community
in the same hope of experiencing Jesus Christ in our lives through the breaking
of the bread.
Our Gospel lesson for today reveals Our Lord at a time of
physical exhaustion and emotional distress
For you may remember that Jesus had just brought his message to
his own people, only to receive a stunning rejection in his home town of
Nazareth, where the people were so angry with what he said that they threatened
to throw him off a steep cliff.
The religious authorities were dismissive of him, criticizing
him and his followers for their petty infractions of minor rules governing
eating and religious observances.
And now he has just learned that King Herod has executed his
cousin, John the Baptist, the one who baptized him and had supported Jesus in
so many ways, actually encouraging people to switch their allegiance from him
to Jesus.
So this is the context in which we see Jesus and the disciples
suspend their active ministry in order to observe a time of retreat or Sabbath.
Matthew indicates that Jesus decided to pull back from the
hurly-burly of the campaign trail and spend time in a deserted place where they
might rethink strategy and recharge their emotional batteries.
This was a good idea … but it did not work.
The crowds pursued him, as if he were a rock star.
They traveled long distances from their homes to be near Jesus.
Did they come in fear for their futures?
Did they come in the hope that he was the Messiah, the
long-expected One?
We do not know for sure.
Matthew tells us that they were determined to see Jesus and did
not plan very well, for the day grew short and they were far from their homes
with no food to hold them until they returned.
The disciples expressed a genuine concern to Jesus that the
people would need to leave in order to avoid the problems of being stuck on the
road, in the dark, with no food,
This is a deserted place, they said, and the hour is now late;
send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for
themselves.
At first the disciples seemed uncaring, but, in reality, this
was a practical reason for apprehension.
But Jesus took a different approach:
They need not go away; you give them something to eat.
In calling for the disciples to get involved in this crisis of a
temporary refugee people, Jesus established the expectation that his followers
would use their compassion to make good things happen.
This feeding of people in the wilderness was not to be a seen as
some kind of razzle-dazzle spectacle to enhance Jesus’ fame and popularity
among the people, but an insistence that Jesus’ followers distinguish
themselves by their compassion, resourcefulness, and generosity.
The Church treasures this story because it captures the way in
which Jesus challenged his disciples to address a problem and not ignore it.
Now the disciples were shocked by what Jesus was suggesting,
because, like many of us, the disciples approached problems with a theology of
scarcity … we do not have enough, we cannot do this, it is out of the question,
we should not even try.
We have only five loaves of bread here and two fish!
But Jesus wanted his disciples to think not in terms of what
they did not have but rather in terms of what God had given them … a theology
of plenty.
The message in our Gospel lesson is that if we will embrace a
challenge, bringing forward what we have, no matter how little, then God will
do the rest.
Many a Christian congregation has launched a noble endeavor,
mounted a ministry of outreach, broken ground for a new building … not because
they had the money in the bank but because they had the vision, they sensed the
need, and they were willing to trust that God would provide.
We will never know for sure what happened that day when more
than 5,000 hungry people were fed.
Some believe that Jesus literally broke the bread and fish and
they multiplied in a mystical manner so that a large quantity of food was
produced.
Another theory is that as Jesus and the disciples shared the
little they had, it encouraged others in the multitude to share what they had
until a loving community was formed where each gave what he could and received
what he needed.
Isn’t that a miracle!
Since we cannot know precisely what happened, we must simply
remember that this story took on profound importance for the Early Church for
some clear reasons
The story is a sharp reminder that individual Christians must
never be so wrapped up in their own problems or concerns that they withdraw
from the world and refuse to provide the help and support when others are in
need. Left alone we can easily think like the disciples and say: Send them away
… they are not our concern.
But this is not an attitude our Lord will accept.
He calls us to be generous and share.
The story is a clear call for the Church of Jesus Christ to be a
compassionate Church, which hears the cries of people and responds to their
needs.
You give them something to eat!
It matters not whether they are like us, members of our
families, or people of our ethnic background.
If they are in need we must respond!
The story also reminds us that all people deserve our concern,
as God’s instruments, simply by virtue of being in need, hungry, lost, and
alone.
The love of God is like a parent with open, welcoming arms.
The love of God is like a mother who has fixed a meal that
provides enough for all who are hungry.
Finally, the story reminds us of just what God can do when we
give him what we have.
Five loaves and two fish.
That was not very much, as the world measures value.
But then Jesus said those amazing words:
Bring them to me! Suddenly what seemed like very little became
the vehicle for a remarkable accomplishment.
This is a wonderful time to be alive and to be the Church! Open
your eyes, dear friends … open your hearts.
Listen for the voice of Jesus.
Do not be lost and do not abandon hope. May your love and
unbounded compassion be bread for this world.
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