Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 31, 2011 - 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Isa 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Matt 14:13-21,14]When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy good for themselves." Jesus said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves."
On more than one occasion when I've been a pastor, I've felt like the disciples in this story from Matthew! The task is too big and the resources are too small! Jesus simply tells them to bring him what they have, and that turns out to be enough to feed thousands! That lesson alone kept me going, and from what I can tell from giving retreats for priests, deacons and Lay Ecclesial Ministers, I'm not alone in that feeling! But the gospel event today has some wider meanings as well and I'll just point to a couple of them.
The early community for whom this gospel was originally written would have been familiar with the passage from Isaiah that is included in today's first scripture. "Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare." Jesus is portrayed throughout the Gospel of Matthew as a "New Moses" and the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah. Moses fed the Israelites with manna and the prophet Elisha fed multitudes as well. Recalling, too, the temptation Jesus faced at the beginning of his ministry to "command these stones to turn into bread," we now see him miraculously feeding others - not just himself. The eucharistic overtones are strong because we see Jesus taking the food, looking up to heave, blessing it and breaking it and giving it to the disciples to give to the crowds!
A second aspect focuses on the disciples! They are the ones who are challenged to feed the crowds. They are told to bring their meager food to Jesus. They are the ones who distribute the food. The food itself is important because all the fragments are gathered up. Many is the time I have been told by parishioners that they come to the celebration of the Eucharist "to be fed." They mean more than simply receiving the consecrated host, as important as that is! They mean also the preaching and the whole sacramental experience. All of us who are charged with the "administration" of the sacraments face the challenge from Jesus and the hunger of the crowds. It is a sacred task and a solemn duty, but it should be also a joyful one because the result is a taste of the Kingdom! AMEN