Eighteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Cycle A; 18th Sunday, Year A -- Five Loaves And Two Fish

Drawing on conflict theory, David G. Forney cites Walter Brueggemann's article "Liturgy of Abundance [and] the Myth of Scarcity" to conclude that, with the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:30-44), there is a contest between the myth of scarcity in the Book of Exodus and a liturgy of generosity as seen when Jesus multiplied the bread and fish with all its Eucharistic overtones of blessing, breaking and distributing.

E.g. Father Denis J. Hanly was a Maryknoll Missionary for over 55 years. He said:

Many years ago, I was teaching in the seminary in Hong Kong and I was teaching the deacons and they were about to be ordained. And deacons about to be ordained are very enthusiastic. And, of course, I’m an old cynic from Brooklyn, so I tried my best to maintain their incredible positive outlook at the time.

About two weeks after the deaconate ordination I met one of the seminarians in the hallway and I said, “Harry, how are you doing?”

And he said, “Father Hanly, when I stood and knelt at that altar with my head down, and I was filled with joy and I was filled with peace and I gave my whole life to Him, it was a wonderful moment.” And then he stops. “And now, three weeks later, each day, I take a little back.” You understand? “I take a little back.”

“Taking a little back” speaks of the tension that the new deacon felt between the perceived scarcity and lack of abundance regarding time and generosity in serving.

The tension goes back to the Hebrews wandering for 40 years in the desert; at every new campsite, they whined to Moses about perceived scarcity: "Give us water to drink, and food to eat....Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" (Exodus 17:3).

But, as David G. Forney notes, “Their memory, to say the least, was selective. They never had it this good in Egypt…. There, bread was a reward of food and drink contingent on their productivity, and it was always received and eaten with fearful anxiety that it might be cut off,” bread was a “mechanism of imperial control.”

Yet, “it’s a wonder, it's a miracle, it's an embarrassment, it's irrational, but God's abundance transcends the market economy."

Forney notes that at the heart of the Hebrew's wilderness experience is the question, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17: 7). Does God provide in sufficient ways or is Pharaoh correct that there is not enough? And it is that question that lies behind many situations of conflict. Do we have to fight to get ahead, to advance our agendas, to prove God is on my side, or does God really provide for all that we need?

(source: David G. Forney, Journal of Religious Leadership, Vol. 2, No. 2, Spring 2003).

2. So when Jesus says to us, as in our Gospel today, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves,” what I hear Jesus saying is, “Don’t wait for someone else to do it.” “Don’t pretend you’re not qualified or capable.” “Don’t delay it.”—Our Gospel today says that Jesus fed five-thousand hungry people when all he really wanted was to be alone to grieve after learning that his cousin and friend, John the Baptist, had just been killed by Herod.

Alyce McKenzie puts it this way: “Jesus' words "You give them something to eat," are “a daily dare. He's saying "I dare you to take me at my word. And see what happens.”

Jesus sprang into action because his heart was moved to pity and compassion at seeing the hungry crowd. The word ‘compassion’ comes from a Greek word which means the ‘inner parts’ of the body; your guts. Compassion refers to something deep inside of us. So, to have compassion, indicates a strong inner feeling.

And that’s our cue.

Just Feel--Observe your somatic experience and your feelings. If you feel compassion in your gut, that is a call from God to help someone. God will multiply your efforts.

He will multiply my tiny offerings to do His work like five loaves and two fish. He is only asking me to be a part of His work. But it’s also a challenge to me to be compassionate and generous when I don’t feel like it but know it’s your will. Like the disciples, just let me follow your instructions, and to entrust the miracles that need to happen to you.

There were 12 baskets of leftovers, one basket personalized for each apostle. They had picked up the fragments with their own hands; they had seen the miracle of multiplication with their very eyes.

Minister from God’s abundance—and you will fill more baskets than you can carry by yourself.

Amen.