The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our sense of injustice from deception and gratitude for restoration.
In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, Hananiah opposes Jeremiah and dies.
Psalm 119 praises the Glories of God’s Law.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Jesus feeding the Five Thousand.
* [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).
* [14:19] The taking, saying the blessing, breaking, and giving to the disciples correspond to the actions of Jesus over the bread at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26). Since they were usual at any Jewish meal, that correspondence does not necessarily indicate a eucharistic reference here. Matthew’s silence about Jesus’ dividing the fish among the people (Mk 6:41) is perhaps more significant in that regard.
* [14:20] The fragments left over: as in Elisha’s miracle, food was left over after all had been fed. The word fragments (Greek klasmata) is used, in the singular, of the broken bread of the Eucharist in Didache 9:3–4. (Matthew, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB, n.d.)
Edward Morse comments that the miraculous sign he performed is the only miracle that appears in all four gospels. It calls to mind the prophet Elisha, who miraculously fed a hundred men with twenty loaves, also with plenty left over. (2 Kings 4: 42-44). It also reflects the manna that God used to feed Israel during the exodus. And it foreshadows Jesus’ own transformation into the bread of life, which comes to us in the eucharist (John 6).
Jesus follows after the line of prophets who went before him, sharing a life of difficulty and suffering to bring a message that was not always well received. Only Jesus delivers on the promise of peace, uniting us to God in a way that only He could bring, thereby also fulfilling the words Jeremiah spoke so many years before.
Lord, help us to follow the words of the Psalms today, coming to you in humility to hear your words and to live according to them. Save us from false prophets and false promises. Draw us to the living bread that you alone provide to sustain us, even in the midst of hard times and difficulties that accompany us in this life. Thanks be to God. (Morse, n.d.)
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 sakes. 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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21 comments that being in this place of scarcity, where what they had wasn’t enough, gave the disciples an opportunity to rely on God, who is good and powerful and trustworthy. As they stared open-mouthed at the twelve baskets of leftovers, they were blessed by his overflowing love and generosity (Matthew 14:20).
Are you like Jesus in the boat, weary and hoping for rest? Are you like the disciples, feeling empty-handed in the face of some great need? You might look at a situation in your life and think, “This is all the energy I have; there’s nothing left.” Or “This is all the certainty I have; I don’t know what to do next.” But that’s a blessed place to be! Like the disciples, you can lay what you do have before your Father and trust him to provide whatever it is that you need.
Times like these are invitations to stay close to the Lord and grow in trust. They give you a chance to recognize that uncertainty or weariness are a call to give what you have to God. And as you exercise your trust in him, you can watch what your heavenly Father can do with what you’ve given him!
“Father, I love you. I offer you what I have and trust you to use it to accomplish your will.” (Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today.
James Finley shares his personal experience with domestic abuse. We invite readers to ground themselves as Finley describes growing up with a violent, alcoholic father.
In looking back at these moments, I can see how I was being led by God into enigmatic and paradoxical waters in which I was invited to realize that ultimately speaking there is no wall, no barrier between the polar opposite realms of trauma and transcendence that meet and merge and interpenetrate each other in endlessly varied ways throughout our lives. (Finley, n.d.)
We ponder the events of our journey that were experiences of deception as we express gratitude for the care and compassion that reflect Jesus' Way and nourish the wounds of deception with transformation.
References
Finley, J. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. God’s Sustaining Presence. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/gods-sustaining-presence/
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 28 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/28?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 14 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/14?13
Meditation on Matthew 14:13-21. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/08/05/1041955/
Morse, E. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/080524.html
Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Blessed the Loaves and Fishes. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=aug5
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