We just heard the well-known account of Jesus feeding five thousand men and who knows how many women and children. After teaching them, he takes five loaves of bread and two fish, blesses them, breaks them and gives them to the disciples to set before the crowd. Having filled their minds and hearts with his teachings, he fills their stomachs before sending them home – with leftovers. We learn in this powerful event that our God is a God of compassion and provision. He will always take care of us whenever we turn to him in our need.
And, in this feeding of the 5,000, we experience a foreshadowing of the Eucharistic celebration like we are participating in at this very moment. Notice the similarities. Notice, in the gospel account, after Jesus teaches them, he takes, blesses, breaks and gives. And here, we’ve just heard our Lord teach us in the readings proclaimed here at Mass and, in a few minutes, we will hear him, through the words of consecration, take, bless, break and give us bread that will have become his own body and Blood. Here, we experience our Lord filling not our stomachs but our souls with spiritual nourishment that leads us to eternal life.
We all know how important it is to keep our bodies healthy and we spend a great deal of our resources to make sure we eat well. The better we take care of our bodies and watch our diet, the longer we will live and enjoy God’s blessings here on earth.
It is even more important, however, to keep spiritually healthy, to nourish our spiritual life so that we can experience God’s peace here on earth and prepare ourselves for everlasting peace in God’s heavenly banquet. That’s why the central act of worship we perform is around the Table of the Lord which is the sharing of a meal. But, it is not just any meal. It is one where we receive the real life-giving Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus has offered himself to us to truly nourish us spiritually and to make us one with him.
And, you’ll notice that Jesus also calls his disciples to give them some food themselves. In doing so, he challenges them to become part of his mission. He accepts the five loaves and two fish that they have and, blessing and breaking them, he gives them back to the disciples to set before the crowd. And, through his divine intervention, all ate and are satisfied.
He challenges us in the same way today. As we receive the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, we know that we become the Body of Christ – that is, Christ’s living presence – here in our community. Strengthened by the Eucharist, we do what Jesus told his disciples to do in today’s Gospel when he told them to “give them some food yourselves.” And, we do so in so many ways here. Through our participation in Food for Friends, where we provide meals for hungry people in our neighborhood and throughout the Archdiocese, or Mercy Hospice, through which we feed single mothers and their children, or by filling Manna Bags, through which we help to fill the food cupboard of our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, for the summer, or through Adopt-a-Family, when we provide boxes full of food for families in our sister parish for Christmas, as well as our many special collections, through which countless people are fed throughout our Archdiocese and around the world – in all these ways, we “give them some food” ourselves. And, as we encourage and inspire each other spiritually at Bible Study, Evangelization, Knights of Columbus, school and PREP, Walking with Purpose as well as Men’s and Women’s Evenings of Reflection, we offer spiritual nourishment that strengthens us as individuals and as a community of faith. St. Teresa of Avila possibly said it best with these words: “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. You are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion looks out on the world.”
We have just been nourished by the Word of God. In a few moments, we will share in the Body of Christ and, indeed, become the Body of Christ. Having eaten our fill, let us – the Body of Christ – go and “be bread” for our family, our neighbors, our co-workers and for the world.