Experiencing His Enormous Gifts

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug 3

First reading                                            Isaiah 55:1-3                                       

Thus says the Lord:

Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat

and rich food to enjoy.

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

With you I will make an everlasting covenant

out of the favours promised to David.

Psalm                                                 Psalm 144:8-9,15-18

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all his creatures. 

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

The eyes of all creatures look to you

 and you give them their food in due time.

You open wide your hand,

grant the desires of all who live.

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

The Lord is just in all his ways

and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

who call on him from their hearts.

You open wide your hand, O Lord; you grant our desires.

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Second reading                                    Romans 8:35,37-39

Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.

For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord

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Gospel                                           Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.

  When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining; twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.

Reflection

by Bernard Borja

God has always shown us His great love in many ways we never expect. Most of us believe that it is because of His power that we are blessed. In today’s Gospel, the scene started with Jesus withdrawing to a deserted place when He heard the news about the death of John the Baptist. The destructive power that the Roman Empire used in governing demonstrated a hierarchical social structure which brings inequalities with the people. But Jesus demonstrated a different use of power in this scene.

The people were deprived of quality food which was also one of the reasons why many people are sick. Jesus’ initial response when He saw the crowd was a compassionate power. A power best expressed in the midst of injustices that the people has been experiencing for a long time. After healing the sick, Jesus enacts God’s will to feed the hungry and share the abundant blessings meant for all.

The feeding of the five thousand was considered a miracle but its message was more about discipleship. Jesus teaches us on how to experience God’s enormous gifts through this miracle. First, when His disciples were concerned on how the people will eat, He asked them to bring to Him the five loaves and two fish. Jesus wanted His disciples to have trust in God just as He invites us to surrender to Him what we have and believe that He can multiply these. It also reminds us of the saying, “Give your best to God and He will do the rest.” Then, when Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and blessed the food. In the same way that Jesus prayed, He reminds us that we need to thank God for all the blessings He gave to us. Finally, when everyone ate and were filled, they gathered what was left so that it could be shared with others. Jesus calls us to serve with the gifts that God has given to us. A gentle reminder that our gifts must also be shared with others to fully experience the abundance of God.

The Gospel also reminds us that we cannot do things alone. But with God’s blessing, just as He blessed the loaves and fish, we can share a life-giving feast that represents the gracious abundance of God. And when we live a life of abundance, we share with other people believing that there will always be more blessings through Christ our Lord