Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Every time this gospel of the multiplication of loaves and fish is read at the Eucharist, I struggle to preach a homily. Let me tell you the reason. By now, most of you are aware of the drought and the resulting famine in East Somalia. This part of Africa is also affected by sectarian violence. I want to read for you an excerpt from BBC online news. "It's a matter of life and death," says Weheleey Osman Haji, a day after giving birth near the Kenyan border town of Liboi. She and her five other children arrived in Kenya after trekking for several weeks from their homeland in Somalia, whose ongoing conflict has left the country least able to cope with the worst drought in 60 years. The 33 year old has named her new baby Iisha, which loosely translates as "life". Deep asleep in his mother's arms during the BBC interview, he was unaware of the circumstances under which he came into this world. The one day old was born under an acacia tree 50 miles north of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp. "There was drought; We have been walking for 22 days drinking only water," Mrs Haji says. "Since I delivered, I haven't eaten a thing. I now need food, life, water and shelter - everything that a human being needs."
I have never starved in my life and I am presuming that so is the case with most of us. In developing countries nearly 16 million children die every year from hunger related illnesses. In the United States, 11.7 million children live in households where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means that one in ten households in the U.S is living with hunger or is at risk of hunger. It is in this context that I would like to read this passage from Isaiah: “All you who are thirsty, Come to the water! You who have no money, Come, receive grain and eat; Come without paying and without cost, Drink wine and milk!”
I always wonder that if there were Catholics among the starving and they had to be at today’s mass in Eastern Somalia, what these words would sound like for them. Or take the miracle of the multiplication of loaves. I wonder if the starving people all over the world think why God does not multiply bread and fish for them today. If only a little food could be multiplied…
The situation of the time of Jesus was no different from the poverty and starvation that exits in many parts of the world today. Jesus himself was poor and because of the taxes imposed by the Romans, most peasants of the time of Jesus were poor. Jesus fasted for forty days and so he knew what it meant to be starved. If he wanted he could have changed stones in to bread, but he did not. No wonder then that Jesus was sensitive to the needs of the people who were hungry. So when the disciples suggested that they send the hungry people away to the nearby towns to get food for themselves, he said to the disciples, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” There was only one problem. There was not enough for all. Just as in the desert, if Jesus wanted he could have turned stones into bread. But he did not. Rather, he asked his disciples to give them bread.
I would like to offer three practical implications:
1. Hunger and starvation are major global issues. Think about it, by the time we are done with this homily, another child would have died to starvation. None of us individually can solve the problem. This was also the sentiment of the disciples in today’s gospel reading. They tell Jesus, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” The disciples were as overwhelmed with the situation as we perhaps are with the hunger, starvation and famine among us. But I would like to focus on what the little that each of us can do. Is it not possible that the little that each of us can place into God’s hand can change into a mighty miracle? Yes, If Jesus wants he can change stones into bread. But do you remember what he said to the disciples when they made Jesus aware of how little food they had? He said, “Bring them here to me.” Sincerely, what is it that we can bring to Christ so that those like Mrs. Haji who needs food, life, water and shelter can actually find them? This is the first question us this week.
2. In today’s second reading, Paul asks a rhetorical question. He asks, “Brothers and sisters: What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? Ms Andrey is another worker on the frontline of the crisis in Somalia working frantically to save lives, while babies scream and vomit. She talks about her experience. “I arrived here a few days ago and my first reaction was: 'Oh my God.” Some mothers are letting the weakest children die, while they try to save the stronger ones. Recently, a child she was trying to save didn't make it and she grieved alongside the mother. "The baby was dying. I tried to do something but it just died in my arms and that is really hard to cope with, I just cried with the mother.” Do you think that a mother who sees her children die of starvation could feel abandoned by God? It is possible for human beings to feel abandoned by God just as Jesus experienced abandonment on the cross. There certainly are times in my life when I have experienced the absence of God. God does not abandon his people, but just as he wanted the disciples to provide bread for the hungry, God calls us to stand by each other especially those who feel abandoned by God. We must be the presence of God to them.
3. Third point, the multiplication of the loaves has very strong Eucharistic symbolism. Jesus, did not just give bread to the hungry. In the final analysis, he gave his own body and blood on the cross. That self-giving is what makes miracle of the multiplication of the bread and fish even more meaningful. Bread, in the Eucharist, is not merely multiplied; it is transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. My dear friends we have a God who Sunday after Sunday invites us who are thirsty and hungry to come and feed at God’s table. I am sure each of us has our needs that are apart from hunger and thirst. Illness, joblessness, death, brokenness, sin, difficult relationships can make life increasingly problematic. But we can come to Christ. This is our God who knows our every need. This is the God we can trust. This is the God we can depend on. This is the God we worship in this Eucharist.
In conclusion, let me say that we have a challenge to face. How can we make this Eucharist meaningful for the world? How can we make this Eucharist meaningful for those in need? Bring your bread… make a self-sacrifice. Allow God to multiply food and drink. Please give what you can, not out of your abundance but from what you need to be bread for the world. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph