(Optional Memorial for the Dedication
of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome)
 |
| “The Institution of the Eucharist” by Nicolas Poussin,1640 |
Reading 1: Numbers 11:4b-15
The children of Israel
“Would that we had meat for
food!
We remember the fish we used
to eat without cost in Egypt
and the cucumbers, the
melons, the leeks,
the onions, and the garlic.
But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but
this manna.”
Manna was like coriander seed
and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and
gathered it up,
the people would grind it
between millstones or pound it in a mortar,
then cook it in a pot and
make it into loaves,
which tasted like cakes made
with oil.
At night, when the dew fell
upon the camp, the manna also fell.
When Moses heard the people,
family after family,
crying at the entrance of
their tents,
so that the LORD became very
angry, he was grieved.
“Why do you treat your
servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord.
“Why are you so displeased
with me
that you burden me with all
this people?
Was it I who conceived all
this people?
Or was it I who gave them
birth,
that you tell me to carry
them at my bosom,
like a foster father carrying
an infant,
to the land you have promised
under oath to their fathers?
Where can I get meat to give
to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food.’
I cannot carry all this
people by myself,
for they are too heavy for
me.
If this is the way you will
deal with me,
then please do me the favor
of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face
this distress.”
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Commentary on Nm 11:4b-15
This excerpt
follows the departure of the people from their sojourn in Sinai. The “foreign
elements” (Numbers 11:4a) were dissatisfied with only manna, and wanted
meat to eat as well. At this lament, the passage describes Moses' complaint to
God that the people would not be satisfied. His lament emphasizes that it was
not Moses who brought the people out of Egypt, and it was not him who fed them,
but the Lord God who did these things. Moses recognizes that freeing the people
and depositing them in their own land is beyond the strength and ability of
even the prophet.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
“My people heard not my
voice,
and Israel
So I gave them up to the
hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to
their own counsels.”
R. Sing with joy to God
our help.
“If only my people would hear
me,
and Israel
Quickly would I humble their
enemies;
against their foes I would
turn my hand.”
R. Sing with joy to God
our help.
“Those who hated the LORD
would seek to flatter me,
but their fate would endure
forever,
While Israel
and with honey from the rock
I would fill them.”
R. Sing with joy to God
our help.
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Commentary on Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Psalm 81 is a song of
thanksgiving. The psalm generally gives thanks for the gift of the Law and its
prescriptions, recalling also the salvation brought about by God. These strophes contain a lament for the times
when Israel
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Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
When Jesus heard of the death of
John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted
place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and
followed him on foot from their towns.
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 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 loaves and two fish are all
we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to
me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit
down on the grass.
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.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments
left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five
thousand men,
not counting women and children.
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Commentary on Mt
14:13-21
St. Matthew’s account of the feeding of the multitudes is framed with
Jesus’ grief over the death of his cousin, St. John the Baptist. He hopes to
grieve in solitude, and so takes a boat to “a deserted place by himself.”
While it is not said explicitly, we assume at least some of the disciples
accompanied him in the boat. When the crowds catch up with him (Jesus is well
established as an important teacher now), he does not turn them away but
continues his work among them.
Possibly continuing his formation process with the disciples, Jesus
tells them to feed the hungry people rather than dismiss them. The miracle
occurs with significant symbolic numbers associated with it. Five loaves and
two fish would add up to seven, in Hebrew numerology the perfect or most
complete number. The fragments filled twelve baskets, enough for the twelve
tribes of Israel. Five thousand men was a representation for a huge number and
probably not meant as a census of the participants.
For the early Christian, there would have been even more subtle
symbolism, as the loaves would represent the “Bread of Life,” the Eucharist;
and the fish, the Christian symbol that identified themselves to each other as
a consequence of the Greek letters used. Taken in its larger context the story
is preparatory to Jesus' final trip to Jerusalem.
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Reflection:
The Gospel records Jesus
telling his disciples, “give them some
food yourselves.” The language is unambiguous. He is telling his disciples
to feed this massive crowd. We could surmise that this is just to highlight
what he is about to do in feeding the multitudes. But Jesus does not generally
invite his friends to participate in his ministry when he is present and then
not expect them to accede to his requests. We recall (and will hear tomorrow)
another time when the disciples were in a boat. They saw the Lord walking out
to them on the water and he invited Peter to come to him (Matthew 14:25-31). When Peter tried and failed the Lord admonished him: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
The miracle itself frequently
overshadows his invitation to the disciples. St. John’s Gospel presumes it was
a test of their faith. The fact is, the Lord expects his disciples to
participate with him in feeding those who follow. This is not a passive role.
We look around ourselves in
this day and age and see the multitudes that are hungry. The poor hunger for
basic necessities, food, shelter, and the means to subsist. Others hunger for
hope in a secular world that has denied the Lord of Love. We see these various
constituencies and pray for them. Even as our heartfelt “Amen” is being
uttered, we hear the Lord’s voice: “give
them some food yourselves.”
We hear that voice and feel
like Peter must have felt as he began to sink. “The job is too big and I am but
one person, not God.” Unfortunately, that excuse does not let us off the hook.
The Lord invites us to participate in his ministry. It is the outward face of
our paradox (to be part of the world but separate from it). While we feed
ourselves with the bread he gives, we must also share that grace with others.
Our prayer today is that we
always remember that all of us are asked to participate in the miracle that is
Christ Jesus. We are called and we are sent.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Institution of the Eucharist” by Nicolas Poussin,1640.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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