Dear Christ the King Family,
You might already know that aside from the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death
and Resurrection, the “Feeding of the 5,000” is the only miracle from Jesus’ public ministry that
is recounted in all four Gospels. Why is that the case? I think there’s the obvious Eucharistic
component of what this sign miraculously points to, so that’s probably the main reason why, but
I think there’s something else too. I think it also speaks to the heart of the continual unfolding
miracle of ministry that we get to live right now as the Church—as the Body of Christ!
From the account we hear from St. Matthew’s Gospel today, there’s a detail that might be
easy to overlook because it’s so obvious. The bread miraculously multiplies, but the disciples
themselves distribute the bread from “point A to point B”. That’s such a simple-seeming and
obvious fact but I think it’s so powerful: Jesus wants his disciples to play a part in His working
of this miracle, even though He could just do it all on His own! Every time we are at Mass, we
find ourselves in the same place as those disciples. We come to the Living Water prophesied by
Isaiah who is Christ and are spiritually renewed and fed. And then we go forth to bring the love
and grace we have received to those we encounter. We may not be carrying physical loaves and
fishes, but we carry the living presence of Christ as His Eucharistic people and we get the
amazing privilege to be agents of God’s Communion for the world!
What must have been going through the disciples’ hearts as they were carrying out this
task? Amazement? Feelings of unworthiness? I imagine most were just focused on making sure
everyone was fed. Perhaps above all, I think, there must have been a feeling of great joy that they
got to play a part, lend a hand, and be connected to the good that the Lord was accomplishing. So
too for us, for we are connected by this Most Holy Sacrament to God, whose Love can never be
separated from us.
In Christ, Our King,
Fr. David
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