Word to the Wise
Monday, August 5, 2024 - Monday in the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jer 28:1-17 and Matt 14:13-21 or, in Year A, Matt 14:22-36,479]"This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five barley loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me." [Matthew]
The lectionary for the Sunday (B) cycle is presenting the account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes from the Gospel According to John. But the daily cycle (Year II) offers us the account from the Gospel According to Matthew. The differences between the two accounts are theologically significant, based on the emphases that each of the two evangelists give in their portraits of Jesus. The difference that I always note is the role of the disciples in the story. In John, Jesus distributes the food. In Matthew, the disciples are challenged to feed the big crowd and protest because all they had among them were the five loaves and two fish. Jesus replies, "Bring them here to me." The Eucharistic sequence of "Bless, Break, Distribute" takes place and the distribution is entrusted to the disciples.
I once preached a retreat for clergy on the line, "Bring them here to me." Pastors sometimes have a tough time delegating the task of feeding the crowd. This can be the result of an exalted notion of the priesthood that reserves all things connected to the Eucharist to a male person in Holy Orders. In other cases, pastors are simply worn down by multiple parishes and expectations and suffer from burn-out. The Eucharist is larger than the consecrated host and wine. Its benefits are meant to be "distributed" through the lives of all of us who are baptized. Pastors who cannot delegate the task of distribution are destined for troubled ministry. Much of the synod in Rome is really about this challenge. The example of Jesus is the one to follow. AMEN