18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A, Year II)
Community Word: The Lord rewards those who believe in Him as the Bread of Life.
Theme: We believe in the Lord when we rely on His love and compassion.
Promise: “Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life, I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.” (Is 55:3)
Reflection:
In the Gospel reading of the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus had gone to spend a few minutes of solitude to mourn upon learning of the death of John the Baptist. But the crowd followed him and they soon turned into a multitude. Moved with compassion, Jesus forgot about his original intent, and instead ministered to the needs of the crowd. A very beautiful Bible translation of verse14 says: “when he had disembarked, he saw a great crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them to the depths of his being, and healed their sick.”
This translation sums up not only what Jesus felt at the time, but also provides us with a picture of the true nature and character of Christ. “To the depths of his being” meant that compassion filled his entire being, and that there was nothing in his heart that did not translate to compassion.
Jesus wanted to spend a few moments in solitude as he grieved over John’s death and he could have driven the crowds away but he did not. Instead, he gave to the people what they needed. In verse 14, Jesus showed his Apostles the kind of sacrifice that awaits them when the time came for them to go and make disciples of all nations. Here, Jesus was defining the quality of true servanthood, demonstrating the character required of every true servant – the ability and willingness to sacrifice even his own time and agenda to the service of others.
Another truth in this miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish is the important role the Apostles will play, and to a certain degree, the role that we also are to play. To serve the needs of the more than 5,000 who were gathered there to pass the night, Jesus had to use his Apostles and the other disciples to distribute the food. This is the reality we too must face today: In order for the Good News to reach the ends of the world, Jesus must use us, because it is through us that the truth can be proclaimed.
What we also see in this miracle is not just the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish but the miracle of the transformation of the people from an uncaring multitude indifferent to the needs of their fellowmen, into a multitude who had learned to share and become generous to one another. But the people are not to blame, for it was their culture to fend only for themselves and their families. To share with strangers would be a rarity in those days, but they saw in Jesus the compassion to share with the hungry and those without food. More significant than the multiplication of the loaves and fish was the transformation that happened among the more than 5,000 people gathered there.
Jesus may have also used this occasion to give his Apostles and disciples, and the people who followed him, a preview of the things to come. When He lifted up the five loaves and two fish and said a blessing, he would have partaken a slice of bread and maybe also a slice of the fish before handing these over to his disciples to be distributed. In effect, the scenario presages the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in which we partake of the Body of Christ during the Mass.
It is equally improbable that those gathered there took one loaf of bread and one fish each. What may actually have happened is that each one only took a small piece from the loaf of bread and fish that were being distributed, but because these were blessed by Jesus, it partook of the nature of spiritual food that was sufficient to fill the needs of the people. Above all, Jesus showed that anything is possible when it is done in love. Love conquers all things and in this Gospel passage, Jesus gave the Apostles and disciples a lesson in the meaning of love. When Jesus refused to drive away the people and instead responded to the cry, especially of the sick and, when he used his power to multiply the five loaves and two fish, what Jesus showed was that love can change even self-centered, self-serving men into generous, caring persons.
This is the same attitude that Jesus asks of anyone who will come and follow him. The love we receive from Jesus, we are to pass on, so that others may also be blessed. On those occasions when we feel that what we are able to give to Jesus may not be enough, this miracle of the five loaves and two fish assures us that whatever we give will be multiplied. The only thing we need to do is to share this same love with others. As our Theme for this week expresses it – We believe in the Lord when we rely on His love and compassion. At the end of the day, we can claim the Week’s Promise in Isaiah 55:3: “Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life, I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.” ®
Reflection Question:
1.What prevents me from helping someone in need?
2.How can I get over this bias against sharing my resources with others?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
August 3, 2014 (Sun) Is 55:1-3/ Ps 145:8-9.15-18/ Rom 8:35.37-39/ Mt 14:13-21
August 4, 2014 (Mon) Jer 28:1-17/ Ps 119:29,43,79,80,95,102/ Mt 14:13-21
August 5, 2014 (Tues) Jer 30:1-2,12-15,18-22/ Ps 102:16-18,19-21,29,22-23/ Mt 14:22-36
August 6, 2014 (Wed) Dn 7:9-10,13-14/ Ps 97:1-2,5-6,9/ 1Pt 1:16-19/ Mt 17:1-9
August 7, 2014 (Thurs) Jer 31:31-34/ Ps 51:12-13,14-15,18-19/ Mt 16:13-23
August 8, 2014 (Fri) Na 2:1,3; 3:1-3,6-7/ Dt 32:35-36, 39,41/ Mt 16:24-28
August 9, 2014 (Sat) Hab 1:12-2:4/ Ps 9:8-9,10-11,12-13/ Mt 17:14-30
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
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