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A Miraculous and
Glorious
End to a Wondrous and Joyous Day
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To this day, the church collects its
offerings in wicker
baskets. This is a tradition that can be traced all the way back
to
the feeding of the 5000, as recounted in today's Gospel, wherein no
less than twelve of these baskets were filled with the scraps that
remained after all had eaten and were satisfied. It was a
miraculous
and glorious end to a wondrous and joyous day.
This day was the result of Jesus sending the Twelve
Disciples out
to minister after giving them the power to cast out demons and cure
disease. After telling them to take nothing for the journey, he
instructs them to go forth equipped only with their faith and proclaim
the kingdom of God. And so we are told that they traveled from
village
to village and proclaimed the Gospel and cured the diseased with such
success that they gained the attention of that old fox himself,
Herod.
Now we know that old Herod was still guilt
ridden and uneasy at
his beheading of John the Baptist, and with what we know of what it
must have been like growing up in the murderous household of his
father, Herod the Great, we can surely understand that he would be a
man prone to an unhealthy amount of paranoia. It didn't take much
to
make this phony king of the Jews nervous, and when he heard about all
the proclaiming and healing and casting out that was going on, Luke
tells us he became "greatly perplexed." When he hears rumors that
the
Baptist has been raised from the dead, or that Elijah has returned,
even Herod isn't crazy enough to believe it, so he demands to know just
who it is that's responsible.
When the Twelve get wind of the fact that
they've attracted
Herod's attention, they decide this would be a good time to go find
Jesus. And so they do, and explain that their mission has been
such a
success that they've managed to arouse an unhealthy curiosity in the
infamous King Herod. It was certainly not lost on any of them
that
when Salome aroused an unhealthy curiosity in this same King Herod with
her dance of the seven veils, the result was Saint John the Baptist's
head on a platter. An unhealthy curiosity in any Herod is never a
good
thing to arouse. Jesus, too, knows that the last thing they need
is
the phony king Herod finding out that it is none other than the
legitimate king Jesus and his followers that are performing miracles
and winning souls to this curious new "kingdom of God," so he decides
that they'll lay low for awhile over in the town of
Bethsaida.
Jesus and the Twelve make it to Bethsaida only
to find out that
the crowds have learned of their whereabouts and are right behind
them. Now, Luke doesn't tell us how this massed crowd found out
that
Jesus and the disciples had taken off for Bethsaida, but my guess would
be Judas, as later events would prove that he did have a big
mouth. In
any event, this hoard arrives looking for Jesus, and he, in turn, leads
everyone out to what we are told is a "deserted place." Not far from
the madding crowd, as it turns out, but far enough from King Herod's
minions that everyone can relax and catch their breath.
The events that follow are those recounted in
today's Gospel:
Jesus at ease at some secluded location in the beautiful region around
Bethsaida, teaching about the kingdom of God and healing all those in
need of a cure. The Twelve find themselves in a place where they can
adequately reflect on the spiritual progress that they've made in their
own walk with the Lord, and experience the wondrous realization they
are now not only following Jesus, but are actually participating in his
ministry with him. For the moment, everyone is together in this
one
marvelous place. There is no one to tip off Herod, and the
infectious
joy that surrounds Jesus in this tranquil setting becomes the spirit
that sets the tone for an unexpected and marvelous day that seems to
materialize out of nowhere, and that certainly no one present would
ever forget. We can be sure that even the weather was perfect.
It has been a wondrous day and a splendid time
has surely been had
by all even before the miracle that is the subject of the Gospel
story. Now, as for the crowd that was present, we are told that
there
were 5,000 men. If we are to assume that each of these 5,000 men
had
in his party, on the average, a wife and a child or two, then we
quickly add up a crowd of 15 to 20 thousand souls. So the subtle lesson
learned is that when Jesus threw a party, he really threw a party, and,
when it came to catering such a party, he had no need to look beyond
the Twelve. When we look closely, we do discover that it was,
indeed,
the disciples that actually
worked this miracle that provided the meal that provided the perfect
ending to a perfect day.
And so we heard, "As the day was drawing to a
close, the Twelve
approached him and said,
'Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and
farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place
here.'" Jesus answered, "Give them some food yourselves."
They
replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves
go and buy food for all these people." We can picture Jesus
shaking
his head in amusement as they just don't get it. Patiently, he
tells
the Twelve to "Have them sit down in groups of (about) fifty."
And so,
Luke tells us, "They did so and made them all sit down."
Then Jesus
took "...the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he
said the
blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples
to set
before the crowd." And it is as the Twelve serve the groups
of fifty
that the miracle takes place and there is, suddenly and somehow, not
only enough to feed the entire throng, but a surplus that fills 12
wicker baskets.
Too often we become confused and come to
believe that, as the Body
of Christ, the Church, we are merely like the crowd that has gathered
to be fed. And, like the Twelve, we fail to grasp that it is we
that
have been called to do the feeding. And, like they, we cannot
comprehend that we have the ability to do so by merely offering all
that we have to Jesus for his blessing, then distributing what he has
blessed to all that are in need. Unlike the disciples, who at least
unselfishly offered up their woefully insufficient five loaves and two
fish, we tend to want to hoard our
own meager, earthly wealth and instead trust that someone else will
place the bread and fish into our waiting hand. And then we are
offended when the portion isn't to our liking, and when the wicker
basket comes around, it is the morsels that we choose to throw in that
are woefully insufficient.
The invitation that we receive to the table of
the Lord is not
merely to be served, but, in being served, to also be of service.
To be
his disciple. As the original Twelve would surely tell us, the
cost of
this call to discipleship is very high. It is everything that we
have;
our loaves, our fish, our very selves and our very lives. When we come
to the altar of God, it is not to receive the broken body and the shed
blood of our crucified Lord, but to offer our lives up at the cross
that we might be crucified with him. And it is only when we are able to
come to the cross, with this true intent of heart and this full and
willing sacrifice, that we are enabled to take back from this altar the
true gift of the sacred body and holy blood of our risen Lord. It
is
in this exchange of our physical existence offered up and his gift of
eternal life offered back that we find a real, personal and lasting
relationship with Jesus. And so it is that we come to this table
both
in recognition of our imperfect communion with him in this life, and in
anticipation of our perfect communion with him in the life to
come. In
the end we know that the cost of discipleship is remarkably cheap in
light of the eternal reward which is beyond price.
Today, Jesus has called us to his
service. He has seated the
crowd and told us to "Give them some food yourselves." And the
food we
have to offer is that manna from heaven that sustains for the journey
to eternity. It is that food of which all are offered to take and
eat
and pass, and the more it is passed the more there is to pass.
And so it is the Lord's
will
that none should go hungry, and that the baskets of his disciples
should be filled to overflowing with the scraps. And the greatest
miracle that takes place is not in the multiplying of the loaves and
fish, but in the multiplying of the hearts that are turned to
Jesus.
Among those to whom we serve this true bread
of life will be those
that will arise with their own hunger satisfied and a new hunger to win
souls to Christ revealed. If there is a reward in this life greater
than that of winning a soul to Christ, it is winning a soul to Christ
that wins more souls to Christ. This is the true manifestation of that
priesthood that is after the Order of Melchizedek; that priesthood to
which we are called through Jesus Christ our high priest, who serves at
the altar of God and offers to us the privilege of serving with him. It
is a priesthood that multiplies itself in love and manifests itself in
service. When we will offer ourselves up for others at this altar in
the same spirit in which Jesus offered himself up for us, these others
will follow suit, and our sacrifice will be accepted and we will all
enter into glory with our baskets full. And, truly, that will be
a
miraculous and glorious end to a wondrous and joyous day.
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Gn
14:18-20
In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,
he blessed Abram with these words:
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
the creator of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your foes into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Ps
110:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (4b) You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch
forth from
Zion:
"Rule in the midst of your enemies."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
"Yours is princely power in the day of your
birth, in holy
splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of
Melchizedek.
1
Cor 11:23-26
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Lk
9:11b-17
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
"Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here."
He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves."
They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people."
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
"Have them sit down in groups of about fifty."
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.
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