Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

- Matthew 15:29-39

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman came to Him, recognizing His royal lineage, and calling Him, "Son of David." She said, "Have mercy of me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." But He wouldn't speak to her. His disciples asked Him to send her away, as she was pestering them. Jesus told her, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then, we are told, instead of going away, she worshiped Him, and persisted, saying, "Lord, help me!" But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Once again, Jesus goes up on the mountaintop, seemingly seeking solitude, as in the earlier reading of feeding the multitudes. We have to note that the earlier reading took place just after Jesus heard about the death of John the Baptist, and that Herod Antipas feared when he heard of Jesus' power, because he was afraid John had returned in Jesus. This reading today, I feel, also gives us another turning point in Jesus' ministry, because a Canaanite woman is a recipient of His healing grace, due to her great faith. Once again, He withdraws, presumably for prayer. But yet again, the message is the same: there are too many multitudes who need His healing, and they always disrupt His attempt at solitude. When He withdraws, they follow Him. But in today's reading, the message is even more powerful. After the healing of the Canaanite woman's daughter, the healings in today's text tell us that the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in Jesus. After the Canaanite woman is included (a descendent of those once cursed with slavery in Old Testament Scripture), in today's reading the God of Israel is glorified. And there is another powerful element at work here: we can assume that this multitude, in this territory, includes many Gentiles.

Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." As in the previous healing miracle in which 5,000 men (and more women and children) were fed, after His work of healing, Jesus has compassion on this multitude of people. We observe their devotion to Him. They have been with Him three days. I think it's tempting to assume that they stay with Him simply because He offers them so much, His healing touch. But faith asks of us something different, and Christ asks faith. We can assume their devotion is more than simply out of desire for some sort of material gain, but a devotion of faith for all that He has to offer. Earlier, in chapter 9, we're told Jesus has compassion on the crowds, for they were "like sheep without a shepherd." Here, these crowds clearly believe they have found their Shepherd, the One they have awaited, the One prophesied by Isaiah. What we observe is His compassion for them; He knows they need Him and what He is offering, and He knows they know and recognize it.

Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." We can look again at the symbolism in these numbers. The seven loaves indicate a number of completion. We can't help but think it applies to this second miracle of feeding as one that includes the whole world. My study bible notes: "Though Jesus focused on Jews, He taught and healed all who came to Him, thus transcending racial distinctions and prejudices." This Kingdom transcends all boundaries, everything we already think we know; in fulfillment of Scripture, Christ offers us so much more than we can anticipate. And let us not forget that this is the very nature of the Kingdom; we know so through His parables of leaven and mustard seed, of the great net that is cast for so many fish. The bread and fish in our story tell us of the abundance of the Kingdom: the leaven in the bread, and all the fish in the sea that await these particular fishermen who have been called to become fishers of men.

So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. Again, we have a repetition of scenes of Eucharist: the blessing of the bread, and the distribution through His disciples. This time the seven large baskets left over tell us about the preparation of this bread for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles. Four thousand: a large number, a multitude, but a number that gives us a doubling - side by side, Jews and Gentiles, two by two. We are clearly to consider this feeding, this example of God's power in the wilderness, even to create matter, to multiply our abundance, a separate event from the earlier event in Jewish territory where five thousand men were fed. It is a second miracle; Christ's power will go out to all the world, although it begins among the Jews. Matthew's Gospel is considered to have been written for a Jewish audience, but it contains in it a message about the God of Israel, who is glorified in all of Creation, in all the world.

So let's consider the expansion of this ministry in the context of the parables of the Kingdom. It is growing in extraordinary ways. Not only are the miracles those of abundance, of a table spread in the wilderness, but each marks a turning point, a significant departure from the past, things unexpected and unforeseen in common understanding, although foretold in prophecy. Christ brings us something beyond this world, or rather our worldly understanding, but it is something that this world is meant for, created for, ready to receive through faith. And thereby we have the taste of the promise, of what He means for us. In this powerful abundance, in the will of the Creator, we have a taste of what it is to truly grow and to come to see. Nothing can really stop this Kingdom, if we look closely at the Gospels. That is, nothing but one thing we might lack, the one thing necessary. And that is simply our faith. Where it doesn't exist, where it can't get through and make its connection within us, there is also no room for Christ's abundance, His splendid power that promises us what He wants for this world. And so, like all the fish drawn in the great net that He spoke of, we await His return and we do as we must as His disciples, we allow that Kingdom to grow in us and in our lives, and grow the fruits in ourselves that He promised must be ours in faith. So how do you await that time? How do you help build this Kingdom in the world, if only in yourself and through your own discipleship, even as we pray, "Thy kingdom come?" We remember His grace, His healing energies, the truth He has to offer to us. How do you help that Kingdom to grow in your own life?