Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
The multiplication of loaves and fish is the only miracle found in all the four gospels, and surprisingly, twice in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. On the peripheral level, it can be read as yet another miracle in Matthew’s string of miracles that reveal Jesus’s Messianic identity. Indeed, it is! On another level, the passage is so full of symbolism and deeper meaning that a peripheral reading does not do justice to this miraculous event. In fact, there is a miracle within the miracle. I would like to explore the deeper meaning of Matthew’s multiplication narrative in a way that could not only transform hearts, but also transform the world.
Two Banquets, Two Paradigms
Does it seem strange to you that the story of the multiplication of the loaves begins with a reference to the death of John the Baptist? (Mt 13:14). The story of the multiplication follows immediately after the story of Herod’s gruesome murder of John the Baptist. John was beheaded and his torso presented to Herod at a banquet.
Matthew has strategically placed Jesus’ banquet right after Herod’s banquet. At Herod’s banquet there is false pride, arrogance, victimization of the righteous, the misuse of power, and murder. At Jesus’ banquet there is compassion, healing, trust, and sharing. Matthew tells us that, “When he [Jesus] disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them” (Mt 14:14). This is Matthew’s way of telling us that Jesus operates from a very different place than the religious and political leaders of the time – compassion. This compassion, this heart moved with pity is the key principle to interpreting the rest of the multiplication story.
Trained in the School of Compassion
The multiplication of the loaves and fish is not the only miracle in the passage we read today. Matthew tells us, “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick” Mt 14:14). Seeing the reality of the people in front of him, divine compassion becomes operative. His compassion impels him to action. He begins by curing the sick. By evening however, they were hungry. The disciples wanted to “dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves” (Mt 14:15), Jesus refused to send them away. Rather, he trained the disciples in the school of compassion. He says to them, “Give them some food yourselves!” (Mt 14:16). The disciple’s response was tepid. Not operating from the place of compassion, they said, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here” (Mt 14:17). Jesus commands them, “Bring them here to me” (Mt 14:18). The disciples must learn to give selflessly. If they must follow Jesus, their heart must be moved with pity. If they must continue his mission, if they must operate from the place Jesus does – with compassion.
Two thousand years later, is the world any different from the times of Jesus? Illnesses and hunger still threaten the lives of millions of people in our times. We survived a pandemic, but the recent Ebola outbreak – which killed 1450 people in Congo alone – tells us that we are not beyond the age of epidemics. The data on hunger is even more disconcerting. Hunger is getting so rampant that it is getting harder to measure hunger. According to Concern Worldwide USA, each year, 9 million people die of hunger and hunger related issues. 10,000 children die of hunger Can anyone give me one reason that 14 million children should live in food insecure homes in our own country? To make matters worse, we have chosen to cut funding for food assistance to those who need it both nationally and globally.
As we face the challenges that arise from illnesses, starvation, war, and largescale displacement of peoples, today’s scripture invites us, indeed challenges us, to operate from the same place that Christ operated. Jesus did not own anything, but on that day, Christ’s compassion brought about a miracle. There were only five loaves and two fishes, but a heart moved with compassion provided the rest. Just as Jesus trained his disciples in the school of compassion, we too must learn. We don’t need riches to transform the world. What we need are hearts moved with compassion. May we be schooled in compassion.
The Eucharist: Miracle with a Miracle
Matthew’s narrative of the actual miracle is composed in Eucharistic language. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds” (Mt 14:19).
When we read the story of the multiplication of the loaves in light of the first reading from Isaiah, we realize that the Eucharist is the foreshadow of an even greater reality – the banquet in heaven. Isaiah’s invitation to “Come to the water,” to “buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost,” to “come to me and listen that you may have life” (Is 55:1-2), tells us that God’s grace is abundant and that it is free. This is symbolized by the twelve left over baskets of food. Five thousand men, and more women and children ate and there was leftover food. God’s grace is abundant and it is free.
The use of the Eucharistic language to describe the multiplication of loaves tells us that the Eucharist has implications. Every Eucharist is a miracle of the multiplication of God’s abundant goodness and grace. Here there is bread and wine for all. Here there is grace and mercy for all. Here there is abundant life for all. And it is God’s free gift. But at every Eucharist, there is a miracle within the miracle. The Eucharist creates in us the heart of Jesus. Here we worship the Eucharistic Lord but here we are also schooled in compassion. Here we enter into Communion with the Triune God, but it also binds us to one another. Here we learn to share bread with the hungry. Here we learn to treat to one another as brothers and sister. Here we learn to overcome hate with spread love. Here we learn to make peace rather than wage war. Here we learn to learn to forgive freely, love tenderly, and walk humbly with one another.
May our Eucharistic celebration today be our experience of the multiplication of loaves. Today, may we experience the all-abundant love, grace, of mercy of our God. And may our Communion with Christ make us put on the compassionate heart of Jesus. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph