18th
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Romans 8:35,
37-39
Matthew 14:13-21
"They do not need to go
away;
you give them something to eat.”
This Sunday, we begin with the narrative section of Matthew’s gospel. One of these favorite narratives is about the multiplication of the bread and fish. This is our gospel today. And as we refresh in our memories that big miracle, we will try to meditate on it along these points: first, Jesus feeds the hungry; second, Jesus prefigures the Eucharist; third; Jesus is both the God of creation and the God of salvation.
1. Jesus multiplies the bread and fish to feed a hungry people. This is one clear point which surely is beyond doubt and dispute. Had the people not been hungry or had they had provisions for themselves or at least the means to have it, then it would be no prudent for Jesus to perform such a miracle. So, at least these are the three immediate circumstances that surround the miracle of the multiplication: imminent hunger, no immediate food, no means to secure for it. Before such a situation, how can a person who has always introduced himself as savior and liberator afford to close his eyes and make excuses?
It is in this particular context that Jesus would challenge his disciples: "You give them something to eat.” Of course, the disciples too were well aware of the situation. But they were just honest enough to accept their limitations. They had nothing more than five loaves and two fish. That is why they were even the ones who took the initiative to ask the Lord to dismiss the crowd for good. But on the part of Jesus, that was perhaps a good suggestion but it came too late. By sending them to the villages, they might simply faint on the way. So, something immediate must be done. The five loaves and two fish must multiply to feed the hungry crowd!
2. But besides these, there seems to be something in
the crowd that ignited the compassion of Jesus. Let's get a closer look at it. "Jesus set out secretly by
boat for a secluded place. But the people heard of it, and they followed him on
foot from their towns. As Jesus went ashore, he saw the crowd gathered there; he
had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
The gospel speaks for itself. It gives a vivid description of
the people’s attitude. The crowd showed a burning desire for Jesus. Thus, they
followed him on foot. As a result, Jesus could not even keep his activities as
secretly as he wanted to. We must understand that Jesus, being human like us,
also needed rest. But even his most precious solitary moments seemed to have been
disrupted by the crowd. Matthew's version gives one reason why these people tailed
after him wherever he went. They wanted their sick to be cured. But other
gospel parallels suggest a much deeper reason. Aside from being impressed by
the signs he gave (cf Jn 6:2), they were like wondering souls craving for
something only Jesus could satisfy. Indeed, they were like a sheep without a
shepherd (cf Mk
Actually, therefore, it was no mere physical hunger. It was also a spiritual hunger. These two made the situation too heavy for Jesus to resist. So, as he satisfied their physical hunger by multiplying the bread and fish, by the same act, the Lord also prefigured the Eucharist. This would become the greatest sacrament of his presence which could satisfy a hungry soul.
“He took the
five loaves and the two fish, raised
his eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves and handed them
to the disciples to distribute to the people.” ---
Taking. Blessing. Breaking. Giving. These were the great acts of Christ
in the miracle of the multiplication. These same acts would later be repeated
at the table of the last supper. “Taking”
expresses the act of using something which is tangible, something which is
already there, something which is human, in order to perform a miracle which is
something divine. Thus, in both occasions – in the feeding of the hungry crowd
and in the last supper – Christ seems to enforce the idea of what we now call
as sacramentality. “Blessing” expresses
the act most befitting of him not only as the high priest, like Melchizedek, but
more profoundly as a God from whom all nature’s bounty comes. "Breaking"
is the painful act of tearing out what was originally one or few in order to
become many and bountiful. In today’s gospel, the breaking bears its literal
meaning. The miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish takes off by their
very breaking. In the Eucharist, the meaning is both symbolic and real.
Symbolic, in the sense that the bread he breaks at the table symbolizes Christ's
tearing out of himself that many may live. But real, too, in the sense that
such symbolism is fulfilled and realized on
3. The miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish must be so significant an event in the totality of Christ's life. This seems to be the underlying reason why all the four evangelists have recorded it. Its theological significance lies on the fact that this single event reflects two important aspects of his person: as God of creation and as God of salvation. And in both aspects, he proves to be most abundant. As God of creation, the multiplication becomes a symbol of his loving care in all aspects of human life. Thus, he could not afford to see and do nothing before a hungry people. The God who gives the universe life’s abundance is the same God who knows and understands the need of man so basic as food. As God of salvation, the multiplication is a symbol of Christ’s greatest of making himself available, flesh and blood, in the same of the Eucharist. By using concrete situations in life, as feeding the hungry, Christ makes more understandable the salvation he preaches.
In other words, therefore, what we see in this great
miracle is a gospel of integration. Salvation founds itself on creation. The
abundance of divine life starts with the abundance of human life. This is just
another way of saying and expressing what the Fathers have always insisted as a
matter of theological principle: grace builds on nature. That is why it
is always an evangelic imperative that the Church, and we Christians for that
matter, must labor for justice and equality, peace and love. Hunger, poverty,
oppression and the like destroy life and are incompatible with the gospel of
abundance. So, in every moment we struggle against the evils that spoil
humanity, in every effort we exert to build a better world, we also express the
deepest sense of our faith in the greatest sacrament of his love. In fact, by
doing it, we are simply keeping faithfully that supper mandate: "Do
this in memory of me."