Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.
Only God can satiate
1. Jesus withdrew. It’s good to slow down occasionally and take some distance from what you do daily or routinely. Pause for a while and stop going on like a machine. Swimmers have to take their heads out of the water every so often to breathe and also to see which way they are going. Take time in the week or day to look at where your life is going, take a breath and see where you are heading. Solitude is good to open your eyes and see what you are habitually doing for yourself, lest you are doing things for others all the time and forgetting about yourself. Take your time so that time can make room for you.
2. The crowd. We are generally in the midst of a turmoil of things that even makes demands of us, but it’s necessary to know how to draw the limits. This may be difficult for us because we always misunderstand compassion. Today’s gospel begins by saying “Jesus withdrew”. He takes time for himself and then comes back to the people. To act with compassion, it’s necessary to be compassionate with ourselves. Jesus teaches us the difference between choosing and needing. If you choose, you do so from your freedom and from your identity, while if you need, you become enslaved to another person and you’re even capable of giving up your freedom. Choice involves freedom and control of your life. It means trusting and feeling capable, not allowing fear to paralyze you. Need, on the other hand, is to be trapped, to be controlled and not trusting oneself.
3. Looking up to heaven. I love to see in this text that Jesus reminds us that we are called to satiate others both spiritually and materially, in that order, one thing is linked to the other. There is so much spiritual need today and so many people who look up to heaven. Let’s remember that it’s work that dignifies people and reminds them that they contribute to the life of others and to the creative work of God. Today in particular, let’s pray for those who have no work and those who can’t make ends meet.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
