The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today make a connection between our physical and spiritual hunger.
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| Fed by community |
In the reading from Numbers, discontent of the people of Israel with the food provided by God reflects their decreasing faith in God.
* [11:7] Coriander seed: see note on Ex 16:31. Bdellium: a transparent, amber-colored gum resin, which is also mentioned in Gn 2:12.1
In Psalm 81 the people hear a divine word telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9) and gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13).
* [Psalm 81] At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).2
In the Gospel from Matthew the Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand invite contemplation of Providence in our lives.
* [14:13–21] The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus that is recounted in all four gospels. The principal reason for that may be that it was seen as anticipating the Eucharist and the final banquet in the kingdom (Mt 8:11; 26:29), but it looks not only forward but backward, to the feeding of Israel with manna in the desert at the time of the Exodus (Ex 16), a miracle that in some contemporary Jewish expectation would be repeated in the messianic age (2 Bar 29:8). It may also be meant to recall Elisha’s feeding a hundred men with small provisions (2 Kgs 4:42–44).3
Amy Hoover is inviting us all to take a breath and ask How is the Lord sustaining and providing for us today? Can we see how God is using what is already here?
My second graced moment came as I finished reading the story from Matthew. It is a well-known story, the Feeding of the Multitudes. I was struck by my own internal movement not to pick apart the story or even pray with it too long. The message for me seemed clear and simple: God provides. Like God provided in the desert with manna and quail and in this story of providing bread and fish for the hungry, God would provide nourishment/energy/relief from the burden I am feeling. The relief may come in the deserted, desert place or it may come surrounded by people. If I can take time for self care and shift my attention back to God I may be surprised by how God provides sustenance for a weary soul.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord fills all things with blessing from above,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"So that by every means the Lord might be known to be God by nature, he multiplies what is little, and he looks up to heaven as though asking for the blessing from above. Now he does this out of the divine economy, for our sake. For he himself is the one who fills all things, the true blessing from above and from the Father. But, so that we might learn that when we are in charge of the table and are preparing to break the loaves, we ought to bring them to God with hands upraised and bring down upon them the blessing from above, he became for us the beginning and pattern and way." (excerpt from FRAGMENT 177)5
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Catholic monk and mystic Wayne Teasdale (1945–2004) who recognized the wisdom in many religious traditions and helped to cultivate respect and understanding between faiths. Teasdale had an early, long-standing relationship with a community of Franciscans in Massachusetts. He worked tirelessly until his death to promote deep conversations among the mystics of the world religions.
Each great religion has a similar origin: the spiritual awakening of its founders to God, the divine, the absolute, the spirit, Tao, boundless awareness. We find it in the experience of the rishis in India; the Buddha in his experience of enlightenment; in Moses, the patriarchs, the prophets, and other holy souls of the biblical tradition. It is no less present in Jesus’ inner realization of his relationship with his Father, who is also our Father. And it is clear in the Prophet Mohammed’s revelation experience of Allah through the mediation of the Archangel Gabriel.6
The transformation to which we are called is facilitated by a personal experience of the nature of the Divine. The mystical experience is a uniting event for people.
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