18 Sunday of Ordinary - Year C - August 3, 2008 - You ... FEED Them!

Người viết: Fr. Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong   

Bottom line:

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YOU … Feed them!

Bottom line: But, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the feeding begins with our “concern for others!”  It was the disciples who noticed that the people need help – They noticed that people were fainting – they were tired, they needed food!  So they eagerly approached Jesus and said: “The people are hungry, Lord. Send them away so they can get something to eat.” 

As this Gospel opens, Jesus has just read in the obituary section of the Jewish Times of John the Baptist's beheading. He is crushed. They were cousins but much more than funeral and wedding cousins. Their mothers had been close. Jesus had walked for days to hear John lecture and be baptized by him. John was a hero of His.

Jesus weeps.  He weeps bitterly.  He wants to hide from crowds and have some time to compose Himself.  At the same time, Jesus knows, with John dead, the FBI will round up the usual suspects. He will be on their 10 most wanted list.  He too may be murdered.  So, He has to go into hiding.  It is a misreading of the Gospels to conclude that Christ was a loose cannon.  He did not look for trouble.  He had too much work to do. He planned to disappear into a safe house till the situation calmed and then reappear.

Besides, He needed to catch up on sleep.  Given His all systems go pace, He had to be nearing physical exhaustion.

He jumped into a water taxi, aka a sailboat, with the apostles. He set the tiller for the lake's other side. But He was spotted.  Fortunately, it was not the FBI who spotted him, but the crowds. They gave Him a chase on foot.  You can measure His charisma when you reflect that people walked ten miles in 100 degrees plus heat to hear Him.  When was the last time someone walked a mile to hear you?  Or I always ask myself, when will someone walk one mile to hear me?  Any of you?  Please raise your hand!

When Jesus arrived at the picnic grounds, he saw “mops” of people.  Clues, given by the Gospels, indicate over fifteen thousand men, women, and kids.  Notice He does not get angry at them.  He places His desperate need for a swim and nap on the back burner.  He forgets about His safety.  He puts grief for the Baptist on hold.  He makes room for these sheep without a shepherd. He has compassion. He has the willingness to touch others' pain.

Many of us might conclude shortly that Jesus preferred to spend more time easing peoples' physical pain (hunger) than talking to them.   You are dead wrong.  After filling their stomachs, Jesus proceeds to feed their minds.  One hopes He took time to eat a fish sandwich Himself.  The context suggested He talked for hours. Not a body stirred. There was no microphone. His voice must have been raw and His lean body drained. Was He Himself eating? Again Matthew, who was an eye witness to all this, wants us to note His willingness to put out for others. We know the unsubtle message being e-mailed to us by Matthew.

Underline the point that Jesus was not just in the business of saving souls but of people - body and soul.

We do not preach a pie in the sky Jesus. There are 2000 verses on the poor in the Bible. (Rick Warren) He wants the poor to enjoy the good life not only after death but also today. Do you see now why the Church asks us so often for money for the needy? It is just taking a leaf out of Jesus' plan book. Here at Saint Anne, we are proud of our outreach!  At outreach, we feed the body and here in the church, we feed your soul!  But, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the feeding begins with our “concern for others!”  It was the disciples who noticed that the people need help – They noticed that people were fainting – they were tired, they needed food!  So they eagerly approached Jesus and said: “The people are hungry, Lord. Send them away so they can get something to eat.”

To their surprise, the Lord said:  “Tell them to sit down.  You give them what you have to eat.”  They told the Lord “we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish!”   Do you know what they are trying to convince?  They tried to tell the Lord “We just have enough for us!  You don’t want us to go hungry, do you?”  You see my dear friends, they concerned about others, but they still put their NEED first. And we know the rest of the story!  They gave what they had and the Lord did the multiplication!  From 5 loaves and 2 fish came the twelve left over baskets! 

As individuals, as communities and as a world, we suffer all kinds of hunger – for food, for love, for peace.  God is able and willing to satisfy all our hungers. But God is waiting for men and women, for each one of us, who believe enough to give up OUR lunch pack, so that God can make the miracle possible.  Actually, let me clarify, we do not have to GIVE anything to him; we only need to LOAN him (Because he pays back to them more than what they gave him – remember 12 basket!)  So the question is my dear friends: Will we loan Him what we have?   

Fr. Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong