Matthew 14:13-21

Numbers 11:4b-15

Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,

he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.

The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,

“This is a deserted place and it is already late;

dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages

and buy food for themselves.”

He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;

give them some food yourselves.”

But they said to him,

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”

and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.

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.

They all ate and were satisfied,

and they picked up the fragments left over–

twelve wicker baskets full.

Those who ate were about five thousand men,

not counting women and children.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are the provident Father who provides earthly and heavenly food to your children. I ask you to give me and my family our daily bread. I also ask for the supernatural Bread of Life. May I receive it worthily and deepen my communion with your Son.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Desire to be Alone with his Father: We get the sense, at the beginning of the Gospel, that Jesus wanted some alone time. He has just heard about the beheading of his cousin and forerunner, John the Baptist. On the one hand, he wanted time to mourn the tragic loss of his relative and bring it to prayer. On the other hand, it made his upcoming passion and death at the hands of the Jerusalem authorities and Romans all the more real. Just as John was innocent and condemned to death for speaking the truth as a prophet to Herod Antipas and Herodias, so Jesus would be innocent yet condemned to death for revealing who he was. Jesus wanted time to commune with his Father in prayer and strengthen his resolve to carry out the Father’s will. Do I seek time for prayer when I learn about or experience tragedy?

2. Feeding the Five Thousand: When Jesus saw that the crowds had found out where he was going, his heart was moved to pity, not anger. Imagine how you would have reacted. You wanted time to grieve the death of your loved one, and it turns out you were followed and brought the sick and the dying to be healed. You wanted time alone and didn’t get it. And then you needed to address the fact that over 5,000 people needed food because they followed you into the wilderness. Would you be overwhelmed, or angry, or would your heart be moved with compassion? The disciples suggested sending the people into the nearby villages so that they could buy food, but Jesus had a different idea, one that would evoke the exodus experience of Israel in the wilderness, but also look forward to something new and greater – the Eucharist. This means that every time we attend Mass, we experience something greater than the miracle of the manna in the desert and the multiplication of the loaves and fish in Galilee! How am I approaching the Eucharist?

3. The Book of Numbers: The Book of Numbers is one of the harder books of the Bible to get through. People can be put off by the numbering of the twelve tribes at the beginning of the book. But the book is important to understand the unfolding of salvation history. This is because it narrates the journey of the people of Israel in the desert. The 40 years of desert living are characterized by frequent rebellions of the people. Numbers suggests ten such rebellions (see Numbers 11:20-23), and we read about one of them in the First Reading. The people were complaining about the food the Lord God had been providing for them. They wanted meat for food and not just the manna. They began to long for the fish they ate in Egypt as well as the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. They spoke as if they were not enslaved while in Egypt. The people brought their complaint to Moses, who then brought the complaint to the Lord. Moses said, “Where can I get meat to give to all this people? … I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me.” Moses finished his complaint in utter despair, preferring to be killed by God than to continue shouldering the burden of the people. The rebellion of the people and the lament of Moses had two effects. First, the Lord commanded Moses to assemble 70 elders of Israel to help him govern the people (Numbers 4:16-17), and God promised to pour out his spirit on them. Second, the Lord promised to give the people meat not just for a day, but for a whole month, “until it comes out of your very nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have rejected the Lord who is in your midst, and in his presence you have cried, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 4:20). The gist of the story is that Israel was ungrateful for the manna and what the Lord had done for them. The people even began to deceive themselves and overlook their enslavement in Egypt. As well, they learned to be careful what they ask the Lord for! God will respond, but according to his will, not ours. Am I grateful for all that the Lord has done for me?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I need your strength and your grace. I realize how weak I am without you and how strong I am with you and your Spirit. Help me to welcome and bear my cross each day, and help those around me to carry their cross.

Living the Word of God: Do I truly examine my conscience in prayer before receiving the Eucharist? Do I have a clear knowledge of my serious and venial sins? Am I consoled by the forgiveness of my venial sins when I receive the Body and Blood of Jesus?