{"id":2580,"date":"2008-08-02T19:43:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-02T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/08\/homily-for-august-3-2008-18th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html"},"modified":"2008-08-02T19:43:00","modified_gmt":"2008-08-02T19:43:00","slug":"homily-for-august-3-2008-18th-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/08\/homily-for-august-3-2008-18th-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for August 3, 2008: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>When I was growing up, my mother was a food service director and dietician at a big hospital outside Washington DC. I remember that one of the cookbooks she had was called \u201cFood for 50\u201d \u2013 it contained all these recipes for things like lasagna and tuna casseroles, with massive amounts of ingredients, for feeding large numbers of people. <\/p>\n

I can only imagine what she would have done if she\u2019d had to feed 5,000. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think she had a big enough casserole dish. <\/p>\n

To put it in perspective\u2026our church seats about 1,000. So we\u2019re talking about more than five times the number of people in this church when it\u2019s filled. Five of these churches, packed. <\/p>\n

That’s a lotta loaves and fishes. Not to mention a lotta lasagna. <\/p>\n

This miracle we hear in the gospel today is one of the more unusual and important in scripture. For one thing, it\u2019s the only one that appears in all four gospels. In fact, in Matthew\u2019s gospel, the one we heard today, it appears TWICE \u2013 retold just a few chapters later with slightly different details. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s significant for other reasons, too. <\/p>\n

It is, first of all, a beautiful foreshadowing of the Last Supper \u2013 showing us what the Eucharist will be. The very gestures that Jesus uses are exactly the same that he will use on Holy Thursday \u2013 blessing, breaking and sharing the bread. This event may be the greatest preview of a coming attraction ever created. <\/p>\n

But there is something else — one more point that also makes this miracle more meaningful. <\/p>\n

It helps to explain why this astonishing event is told again and again and again and again…why all four evangelists thought it was so important, each one included it in his gospel. <\/p>\n

The reason is very simple. <\/p>\n

This is a miracle about us<\/u>. <\/p>\n

In this incredible moment, you catch a glimmer of what will be. <\/p>\n

This is the Church. <\/p>\n

You see the faithful gathered before God in wonder \u2013 and in hunger. <\/p>\n

You see God\u2019s heart moved out of love and compassion. <\/p>\n

And you see him feed their hunger. He answers their yearning. He gives them what they need. And he doesn\u2019t do it alone. The disciples help. They distribute what they find to all those they see.<\/p>\n

And all those people eat until they are satisfied. Five thousand and more. <\/p>\n

From just a few scraps of bread and fish, leftovers, there is enough to feed a multitude. <\/p>\n

And what is perhaps most miraculous: the multitude is still being fed. <\/p>\n

Because we<\/u> are that multitude. Two thousand years later, we continue to gather together, in hunger, and in yearning. And we continue to receive bread that is blessed, broken and shared \u2013 the bread that is Christ himself. He hasn\u2019t forgotten us. He cannot neglect us. He continues to see that we are fed. <\/p>\n

Yes: this is a miracle about us. <\/p>\n

In this beautiful event, we see community. We see faith. We see prayer. A blessing. Generosity. Service. <\/p>\n

And when it is ending, we see gratitude and thanksgiving. <\/p>\n

This is Christ\u2019s vision \u2013 God\u2019s vision \u2013 for the Church that was about to be born. And it\u2019s not over yet. <\/p>\n

What started on that hill in Galilee goes on today, in Brooklyn, and Buenos Aires and Berlin. It goes on in soup kitchens, and homeless shelters, and food pantries. It goes on wherever a St. Vincent de Paul truck pulls up and collects clothing or food for those who have nothing.<\/p>\n

It goes on wherever those hungry for God find their hunger satisfied in the sacraments. Wherever someone can step into a church, light a candle, say a rosary, or receive some moment of grace. It is going on. The miracle of the multitude continues. <\/p>\n

Every time mass is celebrated\u2026or a baby is baptized\u2026or a couple is married, the miracle goes on. The distribution continues. The legacy of those leftovers endures. <\/p>\n

It happens every time a confession is heard, or a sick parishioner is anointed. It lives on in countless acts of mercy, and generosity, and love \u2013 passed on, disciple to disciple to disciple, until all who hunger are satisfied, all who are empty are full, all who seek God find Him. <\/p>\n

The great wonder, of course, and the challenge, is that the miracle is infinite. There is always more work to do. <\/p>\n

Which is one reason why this novena to St. John Vianney that we are about to conclude has been so vitally important. God\u2019s work calls out to us. And He<\/u> is calling out to us, seeking more hands to pass on the fish and the bread, more hearts to carry his love into the world. <\/p>\n

My friends, as we prepare to receive the Eucharist today, let\u2019s remember all those who are discerning a vocation. Pray for open minds, and open hearts. As I put it last weekend, pray for \u201cYes.\u201d With that \u201cyes,\u201d they will help pass on what has been passed on to us — from the hands of Christ, to his disciples, to the endless multitude around the world. <\/p>\n

And the miracle will continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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