Readings: Jer.28: 1-17; Ps 119; Matt. 14:13-21
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia
GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT
Humanity is constantly in need of one thing or the other; we are never tired of searching for things that will satisfy our desire for physical and spiritual well-being. This is the situation and condition of the people in our Gospel passage today, where we heard how the people were in search of Jesus for more bread. So, as Jesus stepped ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he took pity on them and healed their sickness and also miraculously fed them.
Here, Jesus fulfils his role as the expected messiah who is to liberate his people from all kinds of diseases. The healing touch of Jesus reveals to all those who are in need that God is faithful to his promises. This healing and wholeness are offered as a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom among his people. But Jesus did not just heal the sick, he also fed the crowd when he said give them something to eat.
This feeding of the crowd refers back to the journey of the people of God in the desert from Mount Sinai to the promised land, which, in a special way, signifies the event of our Eucharistic celebration. The Eucharist has the same characteristics of this miracle: the community gathered together, the transformation of humble elements into a glorified body of Christ to satisfy our spiritual hunger, which is an abundant gift of God to humanity. In fact, because of the link to the Eucharist, this is the only miracle that is reported by all the four gospels.
However, we can interpret this miracle of feeding the crowd in two ways. First, we can simply interpret it as a miraculous event, pointing to the divine origin and mission of Jesus. Secondly, we can interpret the miracle as the fruit of sharing with one another, for it is possible that once the disciples began to share the little food they had with those around, others also who had brought some food with them started sharing what they had and indeed grace multiplied what they have to the point of having left over. How I wish humanity could learn to share our resources with one another; believe me, the world will witness another miracle of the multiplication of resources that will be enough for everyone with left over for future generations.
So, as Jesus heals and feeds the physical aspect of humanity, he also knows that we need the food of the Eucharist to sustain us spiritually for our journey to heaven which is our promised land. Here, Jesus did not bring the loaves and fish out of nowhere. Rather, he took what was offered to him and multiplied them greatly. This bread is the gift of the Eucharist, which we receive back from Jesus, whose heart is always moved with pity and compassion towards us.
Dear friends, God loves us so much, that he is willing and ready to satisfy our unquenchable hunger for physical and spiritual things. This is what prophet Hananiah, in our first reading, failed to understand, they spoke to please the king and his listeners, saying before everyone that the Lord would help Judah crush the Babylonians and help reverse all the losses and humiliations that they had suffered under them. But this was not the truth; he only said something that everyone wanted to hear by reassuring false hope. Thus, prophet Jeremiah’s rebuking him, made it known that God was going to throw him and all the evil agents that were destroying humanity off the face of the earth.
LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, we are really hungry and in need of your love and satisfaction both physically and spiritually; feed us once again with your heavenly grace and multiply the little bread and fish we share with others and provide for us the basic needs of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a Fruitful Week.
