HOMILY SUNDAY 18 – A
The Multiplication of the Loaves
(Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21)
************************************************************
A family was at a restaurant and the young boy offered to bless the meal. He thanked God and added that it would be even better if there were ice cream for desert. An older lady near-by overheard and scoffed, putting down the selfishness of kids today. The parents reassured the boy and a man who walked by commented that it was a good prayer, and besides, ice cream is good for the soul. When the ice cream came, the boy put a portion on another plate, took it to the lady and gave it to her, saying that ice cream was good for the soul, and his soul right now was very good.
To live life to the full, believe in Jesus and live the Eucharist.
To be human is to be born into a condition of human incompleteness. There is within each human heart an inchoate longing, restlessness, desire for consummation – a certain loneliness that nothing seems to be able to satiate. The simple opening phrase of the first reading speaks volumes – “Everyone who thirsts.” We are thirsting for something, for anything that will satisfy this mysterious inner drive to experience the whole universe. Anne Frank, in her diary, felt that same longing. She woke up one day, bursting with energy, wanting to sing, to dance, to cry out; she was longing, only she did not know what she was longing for, nor what would ever quench that longing.
If we don’t understand this divine fire within as a call to experience oneness with God, who alone can quench this spiritual thirst, we will mistakenly turn to false gods that will never satisfy us. We will spend our energy in futile attempts to save ourselves, attempts that inevitably lead to addiction, infidelity, crime and violence. The first reading continues with words of wisdom: “Why spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”
St. Paul, as a young man, was driven by his inner energy and drive, into a religious fervor that saw him hunt down and imprison those he saw as heretics, the followers of Jesus. Then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, experienced his love as forgiveness and acceptance, and fell in love with the Risen Lord – an event that transformed his life.
Because of that profound conversion experience, Paul could write as only he could, those striking and moving words of the second reading: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship, distress, persecution? No – nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Like Isaiah in the first reading, Paul is inviting us to come to the living waters of faith in Jesus Christ, and in his presence in the Eucharist.
Jesus’ withdrawal after the death of John the Baptist is followed by a further revelation of who he is. Jesus not only heals, but also feeds the crowds. He is a prophet like Moses, and a Messiah who brings new food and gives eternal life, the sign of the age to come.
This account is a further manifestation of two kinds of power – the power of force, and the power of love. Herod, afraid of what others might say resulting from a foolish promise made out of false pride, beheads John the Baptist, using murder to rid himself of a political enemy. In the light of this use of force (the world’s view), Jesus withdraws, begins to speak in parables, and shows compassion, kindness, and gentleness, teaching and healing the crowds. Then he multiplies the loaves and fishes, a dramatic gesture of God’s kind of power, the power of love. Jesus refuses to strike back, but instead turns up the power of love, of kindness, of compassion, which in the end will overcome evil and win the day.
Jesus relies on the early Christian community, and uses their gifts, limited as they are. The miracle could be the multiplication of the loaves, or in the transformation of selfish human hearts into hearts that shared freely so that no one went hungry. There is also the suggestion of a sacrament here, in that people ate only a morsel, yet were strengthened for the journey home.
Jesus performs four obviously Eucharistic actions: he Takes; Blesses; Breaks; and Gives. This miracle anticipates the Eucharist which in turn anticipates the final banquet in the kingdom. Though Jesus performs the main actions alone, the disciples are mediators of the gifts to the crowds, the ministers. The crowds are satisfied, as will be the blessed in the heavenly kingdom. The 12 baskets are signs of the abundance of the gift, recalling the miracle of Elisha.
Some years back I spent four months living with a family who were members of the Sojourners community in Washington, D.C. Founded by Jim Wallace, a modern-day prophet, this social justice community of faith publishes a magazine and does advocacy work for the disadvantaged blacks in the ghettos of the country’s capital city. At times I volunteered to work in the neighborhood center sorting out food items along with other volunteers among the poor. On Saturday mornings, the needy gathered upstairs to fellowship until the doors opened to the basement where volunteers distributed food to the poor according to their need. The next day, there was an evening worship service upstairs including communion. Inevitably, what happened downstairs the previous day would work its way into the celebration of the Eucharist. And is that not how it should be – we experience the love of God in the Eucharist, and express the same love by giving of ourselves to meet the needs of others.
The Eucharist that we celebrate now is our own experience of the lavish love of God, empowering us to go out and be Eucharist to one another. So, in this celebration, let us renew our faith in Jesus and live the Eucharist in our daily lives.
