And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd

 

 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  

 

So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  

 

When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

 

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

- Mark 6:30–46 

 

Yesterday we read that, on their first mission, the apostles cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Then an opportune day came when  Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

 

  Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  This verse picks up where Tuesday's reading leaves off, with Jesus sending out the apostles on their first mission.  In between, we were given the story of the beheading of John the Baptist, so that we are aware why King Herod has now heard of Christ's ministry, and suspects John the Baptist has returned from the dead with such powers.

 

 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  My study Bible explains that Christ gives rest to His disciples to show those engaged in preaching and teaching that they must not labor continuously, but must also take rest.  

 

So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  Let us note the main ailment of these people as understood by Jesus:  they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  What does the Good Shepherd do in His compassion for them?  He began to teach them many things, for this is their true need.

 

 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Christ's miraculous feeding of five thousand men -- and more women and children -- is reported by all four evangelist.  This miracle shows Christ feeding a great multitude of His people as He, as Lord, fed the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16).  My study Bible notes that the Church Fathers see in this feeding an image of the Eucharist, which is an idea made clear in John 6.  There is a spiritual interpretation given of the numbers:  that five loaves indicate the five books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), broken open in Christ and thereby feeding the universe.  The two fish represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  The gathering of the leftovers by the apostles shows that the teachings which the faithful remain unable to grasp are nonetheless held in the consciousness of the Church.  Christ first looking up to heaven, then blessing and breaking the loaves and giving them to His disciples to distribute to the crowd all give the sense of the Eucharist.  In this light the twelve baskets of leftovers suggest the twelve apostles and their successors through whom the Eucharist will continue to be distributed throughout the world. 

 

 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  Once again we observe another great turning point in Christ's ministry.  This feeding of the five thousand men (plus more women and children) prefigures the Eucharist.  Jesus' response is to depart to the mountain to pray.  Every juncture in His ministry is met with communion with the Father.

 

Hospitality forms the core of our faith in a number of ways.   We can start with Abraham at the trees of Mamre when the Lord appeared to him as three men whom Abraham entertains with his hospitality.  By taking in these strangers, we have a great unfolding of the spiritual life we're given as a model in the Bible, the building up of our understanding of faith.  See Genesis 18.  So important is this sense of hospitality encountered in this story that St. Paul also mentions it in the Letter to the Hebrews.  He writes, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (Hebrews 13:2).  From the earliest times of monasticism among the desert monks, the sense of hospitality cultivated was considered more important than even prayer.  A knock at the door meant that even prayer would be interrupted to answer to a stranger.  In today's reading, we're given a sense of Christ's movement to hospitality.  The first thing He does from compassion for these people who were "like sheep not having a shepherd" is to teach them many things.  This is the first thing with which they need to be filled.  In some sense, we are all like sheep who need Christ as the Shepherd, like His children who need to be taught what we are to be about, what's good for us, how we must grow.  For this is, indeed, salvation, and for this we come to Christ.  This feeding in the wilderness in today's reading serves to show us an image of hospitality -- and it is, indeed, a miraculous hospitality, and one that takes place in the wilderness.  It teaches us about the importance of relying upon God's "hospitality" when we feel depleted of resources, stranded in the middle of our own "nowhere," like sheep without a shepherd, or deeply in need of guidance and sustenance or structure.  As this miraculous feeding of the multitude gives us a prefiguring of the Eucharist, so we are also meant to see the Eucharist as the very act of hospitality, God feeding us with the spiritual food and drink that we need ("For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed" - John 6:55).  This is the center of our worship, the thing Christ taught us to do in remembrance of Him.  We learn of God's hospitality in Jesus' saying to the disciples, "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).  And in the early Church and the development of Christian societies such as that of the Byzantines, the first hospitals and orphanages came from this understanding of hospitality as divine, as that which the Lord has taught us, even among strangers.  Often these days as in times past, entertaining others as a form of hospitality could be considered a way to impress, a social obligation, a kind of quid pro quo in relationships that are simply transactional in nature.  But this is not what the hospitality of God implies, for God cannot hope to receive from us anything equal to God's grace.  In short, God's hospitality shows us a form of love from which we learn and may consider how we live our own lives in welcoming the things of God, and even the Lord Himself into our own hearts.  The parable of the mustard seed teaches us about the great branches that grow the kingdom from faith, so that even "birds of the air" (a metaphor for angels) can rest in their shade.  In the Revelation we read, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).  At the Last Supper, Jesus taught, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me" (John 14:23-24).  Hospitality is at the core of our faith, a mutual love not based on transaction but on grace.  Even forgiveness can be seen as a form of hospitality when we "give up" the debts of others' sins against us and allow Christ to be the judge as well as our guide in how to respond and navigate our lives.  Let us consider the incredible power of Christ's multiplication of the loaves and the fish, and think about this infinite, inexplicable power of grace and what it might create in our lives.  

 

 

 

 

And He took the five loaves the the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes

 

 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.  But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves the the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

 

- Matthew 14:13-21 

 

 Yesterday we read that at this time in Christ's ministry, Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.  Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.  But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.  Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.  So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter."  And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her.  So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.  And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.  Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

 

  When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.   According to Theophylact, when Jesus heard it refers not to John's death (see yesterday's reading, above), but to Herod's comment that Jesus is John raised from the dead.  It tells us perhaps that this is a signal of another turning point in Christ's ministry.  Recently we read He was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth.  He is already being questioned and menaced by the Jewish religious establishment, the Pharisees and scribes.  With Herod fearing Christ and His power, it is a sign that state power has now turned its attention to Him.  So perhaps this turning to a deserted place by Himself is, as is His custom, a time for prayer and communion with the Father, seeking the direction His ministry should take in response and for the future.

 

  But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves the the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.   Jesus is unable to get away by Himself, as by now His popularity and the the demand for Him is so great.  My study Bible comments that this miracle, which is reported by all four Evangelists, shows Jesus feeding a great multitude of God's people, just as He, as Lord, fed the Israelites in the desert (see Exodus 16).  In this feeding in the wilderness, we're told, the Church Fathers see an image of the Eucharist, an idea which is made clear in John 6.  There is another miracle in the future reading in St. Matthew's Gospel, in which Jesus feeds four thousand people, with a different number of loaves.  My study Bible comments that some modern scholars try to say that they're the same story, but Jesus' words make clear they are not (Matthew 15:32-39; 16:8-10).  It is frequently written of Christ that He was moved with compassion (Matthew 20:34; Mark 1:41, 6:34; Luke 7:13), which shows that His power and authority are extended to people who suffer.  There is also a spiritual interpretation regarding the five loaves, that it indicates the five books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which my study Bible says are broken open in Christ and thereby feed the universe.  The two fish represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  In blessing the food, Jesus shows us that we should not eat without first giving thanks to God.  This terminology He uses points to the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26) and contributes to the eucharistic interpretation of this miracle.  As the disciples distribute the bread to the multitudes, so Christ feeds the Eucharist to His flock through the hands of His bishops and presbyters.  The gathering of the leftover by the apostles shows that the teachings which we are unable to grasp are nevertheless always held in the consciousness of the Church. 

 

The story of the loaves and fishes reminds us about abundance; it invites us to ask questions.  Where does abundance come from?  What constitutes abundance?  When is it that we feel we need such abundance?  It's important to note that the people who followed Him on foot from their cities truly desired Him.  His compassion first comes in the form of healing.  In other Gospels, we also find He preached to them.  St. Mark tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion for these people because they were "like sheep not having a shepherd," and so His first act of compassion is to teach them many things (see Mark 6:30-44).  So perhaps our first consideration is to contemplate just what Jesus feeds these people with -- which things does He truly sense they need, and in what order or priority?  There is also the fact that it is because they remain with Him for so much time that the necessity for food comes to the fore.  Jesus shows them tremendous, and importantly for customs and culture in Christian context, hospitality.  He makes the table for them, so to speak, invites them to His supper.  And this language obviously applies to the suggestion of the Eucharist to come.  But perhaps the greatest "sign" here for us to see is Christ's power of multiplication, for such a power belongs to God.  Such a power belongs to the God who created the world.  Perhaps there are many today who speak about an underlying framework of reality which occurs as fractal (see especially symbologist Jonathan Pageau).  That is, the repeated images and patterns which occur and re-occur, scaled to all measure of scale, from the largest to the smallest.  One example of a fractal pattern is the phenomenon of snowflakes; they seem to be a repeated pattern when they occur, each bears resemblance to another but each is unique, infinitely replicating and yet diverse in detail.  This study of reality as an underlying pattern of fractals gives rise to considerations about the creative power of God, and the presence of that very creative power in all things we know.  One small reflection of that is the pattern of the Eucharist, the pattern of this feeding in the wilderness -- and a great example lies in the pattern of Christ's multiplication of the fish and loaves in order to feed a whole multitude.  It is an act which mirrors and reflects the way that God creates.  This feeding itself is a type of pattern, which will be fulfilled in the Eucharist, which in turn will come to be fulfilled in our participation in the life of Christ and our coming together, and being consistently reborn as community, as the faithful in Christ's Kingdom.  If we think about how this very example of God's creative power as multiplicity may work in our lives as faithful, then we may also come to understand how we follow Christ in times of need, or difficulty, or when we are also like sheep not having a shepherd, when we seek answers to problems that present themselves to us.  We always have our Shepherd, and it is the pattern of His very life that is set down for us to repeat, each as a unique expression of faith in following Him.  Do we feel we lack abundance? We might start with gratitude for what we do have, and prayer for what we think we don't.  Do we need to care for people and feel we will be unable to do so?  We start with hospitality and work from there.  We see what we can multiply, what we can divide, who has something that will help and is willing to do so.  And we start with everything in love, because God is love, and if love does not guide us, then we are being misled.  These are all patterns of repetition and multiplication that we need to seek when we are out "in the wilderness" so to speak, for we seek Him in all things (another example of how fractals work).  We seek the meaning that Christ can offer, even in our suffering, for the Cross is also one of those patterns of our lives that means we are to live "like Him."  In this sense we think of the power of God for multiplication, that we each become temples to God, and the Holy Spirit can work in this way as a pattern of multiplication in us, through our communities, through time, for He is the finger of God, sent by the Father, through the Son.  These are all the endlessly multiplied fractals of holy power, the creative power of God, working through our lives and through Jesus Christ, our Lord who gave us all things.  Let us consider the blessings we've got, and be thankful for them, engaging in these gifts for all of us from God.

 

 

 

 

 

You give them something to eat

 

 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  

 

But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  

 

When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something  to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

 

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go  before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  

 

- Mark 6:30-46 

 

Yesterday we read that King Herod heard of Jesus, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

 

  Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  Continuing on from yesterday's reading, our first verse today resumes "present time" in the narrative, whereas the story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist was given as a kind of "flashback" so that we understand Herod Antipas' fear of Jesus, that He is John returned from the dead.  My study Bible comments on this passage that Christ gives rest to His disciples to show those engaged in preaching and teaching that they must not labor continuously, but must also take rest.  So important is His time spent with them, that they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  

 

 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.   Although Jesus quite deliberately set out with the disciples for a deserted place so that they could rest together, the multitudes will not leave them alone, and follow Him even on foot.  Here, Jesus' compassion plays a part, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  And what do lost sheep without a shepherd need?  Learning and teaching; so He began to teach them many things. This is discipleship.

 

 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something  to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  This miracle is reported by all four evangelists; it shows Jesus feeding a great multitude of His people as He fed the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16).  My study Bible reports that the Church Fathers see in this feeding miracle an image of the Eucharist.  This sense is made quite clear in St. John's Gospel (see John 6).  Here, Jesus shows that we should never eat without first giving thanks to God.  According to my study Bible, the terminology (He blessed and broke the loaves) points to the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26), leading to a eucharistic interpretation of this miracle.  Just as the disciples distribute the bread to the people, my study Bible notes, so also Christ feeds the Eucharist to His flock through the hands of His bishops and presbyters.  There is a spiritual interpretation to this miracle which my study Bible cites. In that interpretation, the five loaves indicate the five books of the law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which are broken open in Christ and so therefore feed the universe, all of creation.  The two fish represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  The gathering of the leftovers by the apostles (twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish) shows that the teachings which the faithful cannot grasp are nonetheless held in the consciousness of the Church.  

 

 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go  before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  This feeding miracle, and its prefiguring of the Eucharist, forms another type of turning point in Christ's ministry.  Note that He departed to the mountain to pray by Himself, after sending the disciples on their way once more across the sea.

 

 Today's reading asks us to open up to questions about consumption.  That is, to think about what we feed ourselves.  What really nourishes us?  With what do we want to be nourished?  We live in an overwhelmingly consumerist-oriented society, at least in a modern, developed world.  We consume entertainments, food, and other things.  But the question of what we seek to consume, and what we seek in order to nurture and feed ourselves for good spiritual health becomes a kind of discernment we might not always think about as clearly as we should.  Clearly the people who follow Christ in the beginning of today's reading perceive in themselves some great need for what they seek from Him.  It's likely that they pursue Him because of the miraculous healings that He is by now so famous for.  But what Jesus will offer to nurture people is what they truly need for their best welfare.  Moreover this welfare involves body, soul, heart, mind, and spirit.  So, although perhaps the people chase after Jesus from all points in order to pursue Him for His famous healings (including the casting out of unclean spirits), Jesus' way of giving them what they need -- of truly nurturing them -- is to teach them.  For the problem He perceives is that they are like sheep not having a shepherd.  Christ's compassion is to provide the people who seek Him with what they truly need.  But then later, another, different need arises.  They have spent the day listening to Him, and they are in a deserted place.  They will need something to eat, so the disciples approach Jesus to send the people away so they find food.  But He has another plan; He wants the disciples to give the people something to eat.  The disciples ask about purchasing two hundred denarii worth of bread (a denarius was about one day's wage for a laborer), which still would not be enough for this large crowd.  Perhaps this is all the ministry could afford.  But Jesus tells the disciples, "You give them something to eat."  It would seem that this is another way of giving people what they need:  the disciples will learn what is possible for them, while Christ will expand the nature of His ministry to include preparation for the Eucharist to come.  A holy meal, indeed, based on faith and the miraculous power of Christ to multiply the little we have to start with -- a kind of display in real time of the nature of the Kingdom as illustrated in the parable of the mustard seed, an active manifestation of the principle named in that same reading, "For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  With what little they have, Christ's holy power multiplies what's there to feed the crowds who've stayed with Him as He taught them late into the day.  The Shepherd gives the sheep what they need, and in so doing, the beginnings of the chief sacrament of Christ's Church are begun.  In that sacrament, it is Christ Himself who becomes our food.  Later, after Christ has sent the disciples back across the sea, He departed to the mountain alone to pray.  For even our Lord has need of food which we do not know.  Let us follow His example!

 

 

 

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude

 

Loaves and fish, Byzantine style mosaic, c. 450.  Church of the Multiplication, Tabgha, Sea of Galilee

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

- Luke 9:1–17 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus returned after healing a demoniac on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

 

  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  The twelve disciples are now called to become apostles.  The word for disciple means "learner."  An apostle is "one sent out."  Note that Jesus gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He shares His own power with these disciples for their first apostolic mission to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick.  As those who are preaching the kingdom and bearing it with them, they are taught to do so in humility, but also as those who witness and testify.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.   My study bible remarks that this is the same Herod (Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee) to whom Pilate will send Jesus during His trial (Luke 23:7).  He is the son of Herod the Great, who slew the innocent infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist can be found in Mark 6:14-28.

 

 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."   My study bible cites the commentary of Theophylact, who sees a liturgical parallel with this story of the feeding of five thousand.  So central is this story, that it is the only miracle found in all four Gospels.  Theophylact notes that Christ first healed and spoke the gospel of the kingdom of God, and then fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples.  In the Church, a person is first healed through baptism.  Then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached, and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of the ordained clergy. 

 

But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Christ commands the disciples, "You give the something to eat."  My study bible says that this is a commission of a type and preparation for the apostolic ministry the disciples will perform after Christ's Resurrection.  They will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.  Regarding the five loaves and two fish, my study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."

 

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  St. John Chrysostom comments that Christ looked up to heaven "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  That Christ blessed and broke the loaves, writes St. Chrysostom, teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food."  My study bible notes that this blessing also presents a clear eucharistic image, and directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see John 6:26-27).  

Today's Gospel reading invites us to consider the question:  With what do we feed ourselves?  How are we fed?  Does life consist of the word of God with the things we take into our lives, the ways that we view the world, all that we eat, and breathe, and sleep?  While the Gospel gives us a full day in the life of Christ in the depiction of the return of the apostles, and the subsequent feeding of the five thousand, what we see is a Man for whom the kingdom of God is always present.  And for the disciples, who are now apostles, their lives will be forever marked by this bearing of the kingdom of God into the world.  At no time will their lives be simply about getting through life day to day, but rather about eating, breathing, and sleeping the gospel of the kingdom of God, and bearing that into the world.  The feeding of the five thousand, so central to the Gospels and to the tradition of worship and the Eucharist, teaches us about sacrament.  In Jesus' looking up to heaven, and the blessing and breaking of the loaves, He teaches us about a sacramental life.  All things are turned over to God for God's use and blessing.  This isn't simply about the origins of the Eucharist, but in a sense it is  about a way of life.  That is, a way of life of bearing the Kingdom into the world, and offering our world back to God, so that our lives are filled with this purpose and meaning.  In that way of being in our lives, everything can be filled with meaning and purpose, infused with the ministry of the Kingdom.  Just as Jesus starts here with five loaves and two fish, there is nothing too small or insignificant for this sacramental life.  The breath we take can be accompanied with a short prayer, such as "Lord have mercy."  Our moments can be permeated with such prayer, our lives given over and dedicated back to God.  This is our place in the world as humankind in the viewpoint of the Bible.  We negotiate this world and do so properly by returning our gifts and blessings back to God, in a kind of priesthood of humanity, and in living a sacramental life.  Everything we have is a gift from God, and we simply need to ask for blessing -- as does Christ -- to live such a life in God's purpose.  We can do the same with all of our possessions.  We can ask God to fill our relationships and bless them.  We can consecrate anything for the bearing of the Kingdom in the world.  It is our prayer and faith that mediates, our practices learned from our traditions that are designed to do so, and even our very worship that consecrates the elements of life -- our food -- as that which truly, deeply nurtures for the life of the Kingdom as we live life on earth.  Let us reconcile the two, as we're meant to do, by living lives that infuse and bear the Kingdom in this world, devoting each small thing to purpose by "remembering God."   The words in Greek and Hebrew for "breath" and "Spirit" are the same; let us remember with our breath to breathe in the word of life.