Feeding and Frenzy
the miracle of the loaves and fish
Dear Saints,
First, this week's announcements:
Our weekend Masses are: Saturday 5:15pm in the church; Sunday at 7:30am and 9:00am in the church; Sunday at 9:00am at Walmart; and Sunday at 11:00am (hopefully) outside.
It looks like Sunday's 11:00am Mass will be outside, in front of the church. But if we find ourselves subject to lightning, we might have to move it inside. I'll send out a text/email Sunday morning to confirm.
Please be in touch with me with any questions or concerns.
This weekend's Gospel passage gives us Jesus feeding the 5,000. You know the story - five loaves and two fish with twelve wicker baskets left over - so let's dig in a little.
If we are especially generous with our calculations, both on what would have been considered "Galilee" and its population density, then we might estimate that 400,000 people lived in the region 2,000 years ago. Fewer than half of those, we have to assume, were men.
So 5,000 out of 200,000 men witnessed - well, were fed by - the handiwork of God that day. To say that the multiplication of the loaves and fish put Jesus on the map and helps explain his massive popularity is a marked understatement: The event sent shockwaves through all of Israel.
It's too cute - and totally disingenuous - to suggest that the feeding of the multitude was anything other than a miracle. Some have tried to say that the miracle was one of sharing: when everyone gave what he had, there was more than enough food for all.
There are at least two problems with that story: 1. It's hardly worth telling, and 2. It's simply not what the Gospel records! No one retelling the dramatic account, given the sheer number of eyewitnesses and the impact of the event, would have been able to pass off any untruth. No, the Gospels retell the simple - and amazing - fact of what happened.
As with his other mighty works, there's more to Jesus' feeding the multitude than meets the eye. Think, for instance, of the reality that nothing Jesus does is for show. He's never gunning for power or pursuing a political advantage.
The story, rather, is about the love and mercy of God becoming flesh for his people. It's about God, compelled by compassion, taking on our burdens. It's the story of how God's kingdom of healed woundedness - of forgiven sinners - is being launched by his Suffering Servant.
I love you, my friends. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes
Lambert Lombard, 1505-1566