18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Is 55, 1-3 Rom 8, 35, 37-39 Mt 14, 13-21 THE REAL BREAD OF THE HUNGRY Jesus was moved with pity over the crowd who followed Him. Why? What do you think is the motive behind the compassion of Jesus over the crowd who keep on following Him? Of course the handy reason is Jesus is naturally compassionate. But there are other reasons which are beyond this particular text. What we have only in this text is the fact of Jesus’ feeding the crowd. It is the concrete response to the needs of the crowd. Interestingly, Jesus’ feeding of the crowd does not indicate scarcity of bread for the hungry crowd. Rather Jesus’ feeding of the crowd is moved with His pity on those who have “ nothing to eat.. who have to go home… who might collapse on the way… since some of them have come from a great distance.” Jesus’ concern which is shared by his disciples at first seems obvious: evening is drawing near, some in the crowds are women and children, it is a deserted place. How could Jesus afford to just send them away hungry? Through the example of Jesus it appears that the real need is not scarcity of bread. The real need is scarcity of concern, lack of kindness, shortage of sensitivity of those who have more to those who have less and those who have nothing at all. Where are those twelve baskets of leftover coming from? A lot of them are unwilling to share at first, but with the example of Jesus scarcity turns into abundance. Jesus literally does not multiply the bread for the hungry crowd. What he did was to show the way to multiply bread for the hungry crowd. He took the available five loaves and two fish, said a blessing , broke the bread and shared to His disciples. The disciples did the same to the crowd and everybody ate and were filled. At the end of the meal twelve baskets of leftover were gathered by the disciples. Jesus at that instance answered the need of the crowd who followed Him. Notice the crowd would like to be His followers. Jesus’ action at once set the fundamental requirement of their discipleship. If you would my disciples be share your bread to the hungry and have pity on the needy. As disciples of the Lord we do not only think we are. It is in what we do that our claim as Christians is validated. Jesus is compassionate. So too we must. As Jesus’ compassion is lead to action, that is, feeding the crowd, so too His disciples must be full of charitable works and not just simply sentiments. Ours is Christianity not of empty promises and sentiments to the deprived, to the poor but a Christianity of committed charitable works to those in need. Timely the visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines prepares us to become a nation of Mercy. The practice of charity to those in need be it spiritual or bodily ushers us to understand and live out the heart of the Gospel of which the Pope is the chief herald, Mercy to the least, the last and the lost. Above anything else the quality of a good Christian pastor is being merciful. It is the gift that a pastor or Christian leader must acquire if he would be truly like Jesus, the Chief Shepherd. It is in the merciful heart of the pastor that the face of Christ truly shines to those in need. Another noteworthy point on Christ’s compassion is the scarcity of genuine leader or pastor. Notice that the passage before this text is Mt 14, 1-12. It is about the death of John the Baptist. The disciples of John, some of whom are in the crowd which followed Jesus are grieving over his death. Jesus understands their situation, with John already dead they lack now a shepherd to feed them with the word of God. So this crowd is not merely hungry for the earthly bread, they are hungry for the Word of God , the real bread that comes from heaven to feed their souls. The evangelist Matthew has a poignant message to the leaders of his Church and to our Church at the present. It is this, “There is no need for them to go, and you yourselves are to provide for them.” The genuine pastor gives Christ alone and not himself; feed my people not merely with earthly food but most especially heavenly food! In the Gospel it is clear, that the real Shepherd of the hungry crowd is neither John nor the disciples but Jesus, the bread Himself of the hungry crowd. The real pastor or Christian leader must be able to feed the people with the real bread, Jesus Christ. While it is demanded from Her that the Church be active in charitable works in society it is imperative on Her to feed Her children not merely with earthly bread but with the Heavenly Bread. Pope Francis reminds that when the Church fails on this, She degenerates merely into “…an NGO.” This real food of the hungry soul is for free according to Isaiah 55, 1-3. God himself feeds us with this bread and we are filled, Ps 145. Finally, the situation of Mathew’s Church remains even today. While rich countries, nations and communities enjoy its abundance the rest of the countries, nations and communities suffer great want and deprivation. The reason? People are inclined to feed on earthly bread alone. Spiritual starvation of the Heavenly Bread results to poverty the world now experiences. The Gospel at once teaches that only the man who feeds on the Heavenly Bread will be moved to share the earthly bread he owns. Only then a fellow disciple of Christ becomes a companion, the one who shares bread, with his fellow pilgrims along the great distance away from heavenly home!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 13:54:02 +0000
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