Homily for December 4th, 2013: Matthew 15:29-37.
This story of
Jesus feeding the vast crowd in the wilderness was clearly a favorite with
Christians in the decades after Jesus’ resurrection. We find it told, with
variations, six times over in the four gospels.
What accounts for its popularity? I
can think of three reasons. First, it shows Jesus’ ability to solve what, to
us, is insoluble. Second, it is an example of what is sometimes called “The Law
of the gift.” And finally, it helps us understand the central Christian
mystery: the Eucharist. Let me speak briefly about each of these three.
Feeding a vast multitude with seven
loaves of bread and a few fish was clearly impossible. Not, however, for Jesus.
The story tells us that when we place our resources, however inadequate they
may be, into the hands of Jesus Christ, we discover that they are inadequate no
longer. Jesus is the Son and representative of the God of the impossible.
Second, the story helps us understand
what is sometimes called “the law of the gift.” This tells us that when we give
something to the Lord, it is not lost. It comes back to us. But it comes back
transformed, and enlarged. That is because God is, in the words of the
theologians, sufficient unto himself. He needs nothing.
Third and finally, what we offer to God in the Eucharist -- a little bread and a small quantity of wine, gifts every bit as insignificant as the seven loaves of bread and a few fish offered
to Jesus in this story -- come back to us
transformed into the Body and Blood of God’s Son: all his love, all his
goodness, all his strength, all his purity and compassion, all his willingness
to forgive.
And friends, when we have Him – Jesus
– we have everything.
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