Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time-A
Today’s Gospel reading is a recognizable story about the multiplication of loaves and fishes. Some Christian religious commentators have suggested the event wasn’t a miracle Jesus performed. They argue that with only five loaves of bread and two fish, it was impossible to feed five thousand people. They propose that some of the vast number actually had food while others didn’t. According to the naysayers, Jesus was the impetus for people to share their food with others. The event was so filled with generosity that there were twelve wicker baskets of leftovers after everyone was satisfied.
It is this mindset that inevitably leads to a notion that the Eucharist is not the Body and Blood of Christ but rather just a symbol or remembrance of the Last Supper. The inability to recognize divine power and God’s willingness to enter into the human condition radically skews the faith. Surprisingly, only two-thirds of Catholics believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist even though the Church’s teaching has never wavered from this doctrine.
The argument about the validity of the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes will not change the minds of atheists or modernists, but those who claim they are Christian and fail to believe in the power of the Eucharist. Clearly, the miracle of the loaves and fishes was meant to be the precursor of the ongoing miracle of God sharing His life with those faithful pilgrims through the Eucharist.
When you begin to contemplate how God interacts with his creation, it is hard to imagine why a Catholic finds it hard to believe in the real presence. Starting with the creation of the universe from nothing (creatio ex nihilo) is a miracle in itself. Then, when you add the creation of the angels and humanity made in his image, the question of whether miracles happen becomes moot.
If that isn’t enough, a Catholic must focus on the Incarnation. The hand of God was evident when the Virgin Mary conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and bore her firstborn son, who was God and man. How else can a Virgin conceive without knowing man if not the hand of God was evident?
To be a Catholic means a belief in divine miracles. For the faithful, it isn’t a great leap to believe that Jesus would wish to be with his people in an intimate way through the Eucharist. The reason we need to consume the consecrated bread and wine is that we are physical and spiritual beings all at the same time. Knowing this, God made the reception of Communion in line with our earthly human existence.
The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes follows a divine plan which will come to its perfection in the Eucharist. It starts with a need. In the case of those who gathered on the hill during Jesus’ time, the need to be fed was obvious. The same holds today; people need sustenance, but more than food, they need spiritual sustenance.
Next, Jesus took the loaves and fish and, importantly, raised his eyes to heaven and gave thanks to his Father. Jesus made the gesture still used today when a priest accepts the bread and wine, gives thanks to the Father, and uses the words of Jesus, effecting the miracle of transubstantiation, where the bread becomes Christ’s Body and the wine His blood.
Every time we pray the Our Father, we ask God to provide our daily bread. If God is so gracious in supplying our physical needs, how much more will he provide for our spiritual needs through His Son’s Body and Blood.
Miracles are real, and the gift of the Eucharist is real. We stand in awe of such a gracious God.