A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 36)
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – August 3, 2008
“With Only Five Loaves and Two Fish …”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 55:1-3 // Rom 8:35, 37-39 // Mt 14:13-21
N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Today’s Gospel reading takes on a deeper meaning if seen against the backdrop of the Old Testament reading (Is 55:1-3), which introduces the theme of the “banquet of the Lord”. This prophetic passage was probably written in exile in Babylon after the Persian king, Cyrus had signed the edict allowing the captive Jews to return home. The prophet Isaiah was transmitting Yahweh’s comforting words to the exiles who had returned to Judah and found the situation in Jerusalem disappointing and overwhelming: “Heed me, and you shall eat well; you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life” (Is 55:2b-3). Couched in evocative imagery, the invitation to “eat well” and to “delight in rich fare” was meant to assure the broken-hearted people of God’s providential love and the marvelous abundance of the end-time.
The image of a “banquet”, a common and pleasurable experience, indicates the fullness of salvation offered by God to his people and their intimate participation in the divine life at the end-time. To prepare for the end-time fulfillment, the people are summoned to put themselves right with God. Indeed, the vocation to participate in the sumptuous banquet of divine life demands personal response, attentive listening of the heart and heeding the voice of God in a spirit of filial obedience. To “eat well” and to “delight in rich fare” imply that God would satisfy the deepest yearnings of a responsive and obedient heart – human longings for loving relationships and intimate divine presence and for the abundant riches of the messianic kingdom.
The Gospel episode (Mt 14:13-21) depicts Jesus’ “banquet” of the loaves and fish in a deserted place in Galilee near the sea. The miraculous banquet laid out by Jesus the Master-Shepherd points to the Eucharistic feast and the dawning of messianic salvation. In the superabundance of the multiplied loaves and the twelve baskets filled with leftovers is a sign of the copious spiritual nourishment and the unfailing Eucharistic food that Jesus offers to hungry crowds over the course of centuries. Our sense of faith is heartened by the remarkable quality of Jesus’ banquet of the loaves and fish, especially of what it prefigures – the Eucharist. The biblical scholar David Garland comments: “The feeding of the five thousand with excess collected in twelve baskets indicates the abundant supply of all Israel. The Eucharist, however, will offer bread for all humankind” (cf. Meditations on the Sunday Gospels, Year A, ed. John Rotelle, New York: New City Press, 1995, p. 111).
In the miraculous event of the multiplication of the “five loaves and two fish”, Jesus was forming his disciples’ faith in preparation for their role as pastors and givers of nourishment to the ecclesial community. The authors of the Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year remark: “A pitiful amount – five loaves and two fish – they are in no better position than the people themselves. But by having them recognize their radical helplessness – for they know that they themselves cannot give food to the crowds – does not Jesus want to lead his disciples – those of yesterday and those of today – to turn to him, understanding that he is able to feed many peoples and that moved with pity he does it? It is as though he were saying: You have only five loaves and two fish. This is nothing indeed to feed the crowd that is following me. But it is much more than needed if, in faith, you turn to me. For with me, you will see the bread multiply in your hands.” (Cf. Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year, vol. 4, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1992, p. 146)
The Lord of the feast and Eucharistic banquet is Christ Jesus, who invites us to share at the table of the Word and Sacraments. As his beloved and privileged disciples, he summons us to bring his spiritual nourishment to the “hungry” crowd of today’s world. He is the gracious host who transforms our paltry, humble supply of “five loaves and two fish” into a table of plenty. In our vocation as Christian believers in the modern world, he assures us that with only “five loaves and two fish” and by his grace, we will be able to respond to the “hungers” of today’s anguished and restless modern society. If only we turn to Jesus Host in faith, our poverty will be transformed into spiritual riches for the benefit of the world’s poor and their salvation. Indeed, the miracle of “superabundance” begins with “little”. In his compassion, the power of God – through Christ and the Holy Spirit - is actively and marvelously at work in us, embracing our poverty and multiplying the meager resources we lovingly place at his disposal.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his message for the 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, celebrated this year on April 13, 2008, speaks of some disciples chosen by God to be his close collaborators in feeding the hungry: “And Jesus already in his public life, while preaching in Galilee, chose some disciples to be his close collaborators in the messianic ministry. For example, on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, he said to the Apostles: You give them something to eat (Mt 14:16), encouraging them to assume the needs of the crowds to whom he wished to offer nourishment, but also to reveal the food which endures to eternal life (Jn 6:27).” The priestly ministry is a special participation in Jesus’ saving work of feeding the hungry. Together with the consecrated religious and laity, the priests are examples of those who have given to the Lord all they have – their “five loaves and two fish”.
Tomorrow, August 4, we celebrate the memorial of St. John Mary Vianney – an icon of a Christian disciple who had cooperated with the grace of God and offered his resources of “five loaves and two fish” to feed the spiritual hunger of God’s people. By his priestly zeal and concern, by his example and prayers, St. John Mary Vianney succeeded in nourishing the “hungry” people with the bread of the Word and the bread of reconciliation. Patricia Mitchell tells us the beautiful story of his generous self-giving (cf. The Word Among Us, June 2008, p. 54-57).
Jean-Marie had very little education and did poorly in class. No matter how hard he studied, he couldn’t remember his Latin grammar. Just when all seemed lost, Fr. Charles Balley – a far-seeing pastor who recognized Vianney’s potential – decided to tutor him. Vianney passed the required tests, was ordained in August 1815, and served as Fr. Balley’s assistant for two and a half years, until his assignment to Ars. (…)
Vianney set to work. Very early each morning and very late each night, he spent hours before the altar in the dilapidated church. Face down on the floor, he begged God – often with tears – to change the people’s hearts. A curious parishioner who once followed him inside was surprised at what his new pastor was praying out loud: “My God, grant me the conversion of my parish. I am willing to suffer all my life … I am prepared to endure the sharpest pains even for a hundred years. Only let my people be converted. (…)
In time, the people of Ars began to heed their pastor’s exhortations to stay out of the taverns and come to church, to refrain from work on Sundays, and to end the wild dances. They came to love the religious processions and pilgrimages that Vianney organized to help them know that God was among them. Many learned to pray and grew close to God themselves … As Vianney’s fame grew, pilgrims began showing up – twenty a day at first, then over the next three decades, up to eighty thousand each year. Often they waited for days, crowded together in the church, awaiting their turn in the confessional … Young people flocked to him to help them discern whether they had a religious vocation. The sick came to be prayed over for healing. (…)
For forty-one years, Vianney persevered as the pastor of the little village … He died on August 4, 1859, at the age of seventy-three. Already acclaimed a saint by the people, Jean-Marie Vianney was canonized on May 31, 1925, and later named the patron of parish priests. His life can be summed up by one of his sayings: “To be loved by God, to be united with God, to live in the presence of God, to live for God. Oh! What a beautiful life and what a beautiful death!”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Do we imitate Jesus’ compassionate stance with regards to the crowds who have turned to him for help and healing? What is our personal response to the hungers and yearnings of today’s world?
Do we see the miraculous possibility of the “five loaves and two fish” in our ministry to the poor and the hungry? Do we trust that Jesus will multiply our resources? Do we allow ourselves to experience and be satisfied by the superabundant riches of God? Do we pray for priests, religious, and laity that they may be true to their vocation of feeding the hungry and trustingly give to the Lord their humble gift of “five loaves and two fish”?
Do we believe that that Jesus Christ in the Eucharist nourishes his people with his own body and blood? Do we proclaim that Jesus, the bounty of God, is the living Bread for all peoples? Do we look forward to the future messianic banquet in heaven?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: O compassionate and gracious God,
the eyes of all look hopefully to you.
In your love, you give us food in due season.
You open your providential hand to feed us.
You answer all our needs.
In Jesus, the Bread of Life,
you nourish us in a unique, marvelous way.
We thank and praise you for in the Eucharistic Bread that is your Son Jesus
you have given us the fullness of salvation and the pledge of eternal life.
You have called us to participate in Jesus’ ministry of feeding the hungry crowd.
Moreover, you invite us to share our “five loaves and two fish”
that you may transform them into a superabundance
to satisfy the hungers of the poor and the needs of those yearning for healing.
Grant us more priests faithful to their ministry of feeding the hungry
with the bread of the Eucharist and reconciliation.
Increase the number of religious and laity
who will alleviate the hunger pangs of today’s world.
Help us to trust in you
and in the miracle of the “five loaves and two fish”.
Give us the grace to respond fully to our baptismal consecration and mission
to be the bread of compassion in today’s world.
We adore you, love you and serve you.
We look forward to the joy of eternal feasting in heaven,
where you live and reign with Jesus, the Eucharistic Lord,
and with the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“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.” (Mt 14:19)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray for the various hungers and human needs in today’s world, and for more priests, religious and laity who would minister to the hungry and sick poor. Seek to alleviate the hunger of a needy brother and sister in any way. Contribute to the local Church’s effort to provide bread for the poor in your community. Pray for God’s blessings upon the Australian National Vocations Awareness Week (August 3-10, 2008) and that God may raise up many priestly and religious vocations in the Church today.
ACTION PLAN: That we may appreciate and experience more deeply the gift of the Eucharistic bread that Christ offers for the life of the world, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 36).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
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