I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after a confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem, Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is severely demon-possessed."  But He answered her not a word.  And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  Then she came and worshiped Him, 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 master's 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.  My study Bible comments that Christ's healing of the multitudes here shows that these Jews actually had less faith than the Canaanite woman in yesterday's reading (see above).  To quote St. John Chrysostom, Christ healed the woman's daughter "with much delay, but these immediately, because she is more faithful than they.  He delays with her to reveal her perseverance, while here He bestows the gift immediately to stop the mouths of the unbelieving Jews."  To behold the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, the blind seeing are all prophesied signs of the Messiah (see Isaiah 35:5-8).

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.  My study Bible tells us that this second feeding of a multitude should not be confused with the first (see this reading from Friday last week).  They are two distinct miracles (see Matthew 16:8-10, in which Jesus refers to each one).  There is traditional significance ascribed in the variance in the number of loaves.  In the first feeding in the wilderness, there were five loaves, which symbolized the Law.  Here there are seven.  Seven is a symbol of completeness, and here it indicates spiritual perfection.  So, in the first instance, Christ is revealing Himself as fulfilling the Law.  But here He shows that it is He who grants spiritual perfection.   Also, my study Bible remarks, these crowds had been with Christ for three days, which is the number of days that He would rest in the tomb.  To participate in His perfection can only come through being united to His death (see Romans 6:3-5). 

Why do we suppose that Jesus does two separate feedings in the wilderness?  Certainly we can understand that the circumstance arose more than once, and also that there must be a special significance to each, as this is the way that His ministry evolved, and these are the events the Evangelists have recorded as part of what the Church commemorates and honors.  These specific events are given to us for a purpose, by God and by the Church in the recording of the Gospels.  But one thing we can learn from these different miraculous feedings is that we are to take note of Christ's ministry and its characteristic of evolving through time.  It does not simply stay the same or repeat itself in the sense of never changing.  If Christ was to go first to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," as He said to the woman of Canaan in yesterday's reading (see above), then we can understand the evolution of ministry as Gentiles also begin to be included as examples of faith as in occasions for miraculous works by Christ.  Every part of this ministry is important, necessary, and significant.  Just as the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves is understood as fulfilling the Law (the first five books of the Bible, also called Penteteuch or Talmud), so Christ also comes to fulfill spiritual perfection , especially through His Passion, which is understood in the various symbols of today's reading, such as the three days and the seven loaves.  As Christ's own ministry and mission evolves through the Gospels, so we should also come to understand our own spiritual journeys and faith, because God's love is always active and working in this mission that takes place within us and in our lives.  We remarked earlier on the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah that we read in the first few verses of today's reading.  Isaiah writes, after he prophecies that at the time of the Messiah "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing . . .."  But the prophecy continues:  "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (see Isaiah 35:5-8).   Christ's ministry expresses for us "The way of holiness," the "highway" He also refers to when He speaks of Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  That "way" in Greek literally means "road," and it delineates the path that Christ gives us, the journey of faith such as we read about as His ministry evolves, and also as our own faith journey evolves through new challenges and new lessons in discipleship.  It is an important concept to understand, for if even Christ's understanding and ministry evolves for Himself, how much more, then, as His disciples shall we expect this for ourselves?  The spiritual life is not simply a stagnant repetition of the "same old thing," but a constant evolution of new understandings, new discipline, new teachings to learn.  Just like caring for a home, a garden, an agricultural enterpriese or business, things are constantly in flux:  there will be new things to cast out, new things to take on and learn, new practices we must start, and old things we will learn to discard.  This is the spiritual life, for in Christ we have an eternal life, and one that never stops growing in its dynamic engagement with our life.  Let us keep in mind the journey, and be ever alert to where He asks us to go and offers His counsel and teachings for each new step.  The multitude continues with Jesus for three days; we continue with Him for our lives, even unto eternal life.

 

 

Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.   But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

- Luke 6:27-38

In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom he also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits.  And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.  But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.   But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."   My study bible tells us that the "Golden Rule" stated here is a minimum for Christian virtue.  It places what Cyril of Alexandria calls "the natural law of self-love" (man's desire for goodness), as a basic standard of how to treat others.  This is the first step on the path to the perfection of virtue.   In the final verse here, it is God's mercy -- rather than man's desire -- that is the standard of perfection.  In Romans 12, St. Paul quotes from Proverbs 25, further illuminating and affirming Christ's teachings here (Romans 12:20-21).

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible notes that mercy precludes human judgment.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over is a description of how an honest and generous merchant might measure bulk goods.  Flower pressed down and shaken will fully fill a measure indeed.  My study bible says, "The blessings God intends to put into our hearts are more generous than we can possibly contain, yet this also depends on the spirit in which we ourselves give and forgive."

Jesus offers us a system of measure by which the gold standard is mercy.  He offers us an exchange -- but the exchange is always tempered by mercy.   Consistent with the Sermon on the Mount, revenge hasn't a place in the life of a disciple.  He's not teaching us to lack good judgment nor discernment, but He is teaching us about a system of exchange in which mercy becomes the medium (see John 7:24).   Neither is He telling us to be unaware of the things that others have done, or that it's our job to pretend to ourselves we have no enemies.  We have to look clearly at what mercy teaches to understand Him and His teaching.  Mercy does not look at what has been done and then repay in kind.  Mercy looks at a situation prayerfully; that is, seeking God's way and the discernment God would offer.  The ultimate standard, my study bible points out, is the perfection of God's mercy.  To look at any circumstance prayerfully, then, is inviting God's way into our own "equation" of how we respond to people.  In this it is a very similar teaching to forgiveness, which also is a way of allowing God's judgment into a situation or circumstances.  To prayerfully make one's way through life means giving up decisions to God so that God or Christ is intermediary in our affairs.   This is a way to walk in mercy, to temper life circumstances with "righteous judgment."  Jesus tells us that our cup is filled in response to such discipleship, with the same measure.  It is important to know that we are not expected to go through life as innocents with no knowledge of evil or of enemies.  But everything is guided by discipleship in our response to what we find in the world.  Returning cruelty for cruelty does little to remove a problem; it keeps us engaged with the enemy.  On the other hand, praying for an enemy helps to create detachment and also at the same time seek God's way through a problem.  Jesus' teachings do not preclude detachment, nor do they teach us that we must love all the things an enemy does.  On the contrary, to truly love a person is to want what's good for them; that is, for their own life to reflect God's teachings and love as well.  We're not to approve of cruel behavior and ill-treatment, nor are we to embrace it.  But we do need to learn what love is, just as a parent doesn't truly love a child by approving of everything they do.  There are times when Christ Himself avoids His accusers, and other times in which He confronts them.   A correction or rebuke from Christ is also a loving and merciful choice!  And there are times when He ceases to speak, as well.   Let us remember that in all things, we seek what mercy asks us.  Jesus gives us a system of living by grace, where this becomes the standard of all things.  Let us learn what grace is, let us study the Lord to know that truth is inseparable from love in all things.  Don't be deceived to believe that justice is not served in Christ's way.  On the contrary, it is in the true interest of justice that we seek His way.  He's the same Teacher that teaches that we'll give an account for every idle word.  His teachings give us a way to do that, to think, to discern, to seek God's way which is the better way for our lives -- for true righteousness and good measure.

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

Yesterday, we read that Jesus traveled to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is severely demon-possessed.  But He answered her not a word.  And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us."  But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  Then she came and worshiped Him, 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.  A note in my study bible reads:  "Christ's healing of the multitudes here shows that these Jews actually had less faith than the Canaanite woman [see yesterday's reading].  Christ healed the woman 'with much delay, but these immediately, because she is more faithful than they.  He delays with her to reveal her perseverance, while here He bestows the gift immediately to stop the mouths of the unbelieving Jews' (John Chrysostom)."

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.  A note tells us that this second feeding of a multitude that occurs in Matthew's gospel should not be confused with the earlier reported feeding in the wilderness (Matthew 14:22-33).  They are two distinct miracles.  (See 16:8-10 where Jesus refers to each.)  My study bible suggests that the variance in the number of loaves is significant:  in the first occasion, there were five loaves, which symbolize the Law (Pentateuch means "five scrolls" in Greek -- the first five books of the Old Testament, called Torah in the Hebrew, meaning "Law") .  Here in today's reading, there are seven loaves.  It says that seven is a symbol of completeness, meaning spiritual perfection.  Therefore in the first instance, Christ is revealed as the fulfillment of the Law, and here He shows that He is the One who grants spiritual perfection.  It notes also that the crowds had been with Jesus for three days; that is the number of days He would be in the tomb.  It says that "participation in His perfection can only come through being united to Christ's death (see Romans 6:3-5)."

Christ's healing miracles bear witness to the universal nature of salvation, and the ways in which Matthew's gospel is written suggest this to us very frequently.  It is directed toward a Jewish audience, as my study bible tells us, but the message to that audience is not only about Jewish spiritual heritage and its fulfillment in Christ.  Here, we also find the message of the universality of that message, that this Messiah is indeed the Jewish Messiah, but He is also the Messiah for the world -- and among the entire world's peoples and nations He will be known as such.  Matthew's gospel reports many "doubles," stories in which we read not just of two events such as in today's reading, but also two characters healed, or freed from demonic possession, where in other gospels there may be a more-or-less similar story involving a single individual.  We aren't necessarily aware that they are the same event, even though the stories are similar.  But there is certainly a contextual message here, telling us of Christ as both the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world, sent first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles.  This expression of the universal nature of Christ suggests to us a world opened up to new thinking by Christ's intervention in the time of world history:  fulfilling the promise of the God of Israel and also a gift to the entire world via that spiritual heritage. It is Christ who adds an infinite dimension to what has already come; in Him, "fulfillment" comes to mean something of the "new wineskins" that are able to expand to hold the new wine.  That's a message we must take to heart, because it's always at work, here and now, in the ever-present moment at which spiritual reality intersects with our reality, God's time with our time.  In the story today, it was the "time" for this second miraculous feeding, but the message is timeless and at work now in each of us and for each of us.  The Spirit lives and continues to make present this feast, this bread in the wilderness, in every wilderness and at all times for all of us, who remain "the great multitude."