Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saint Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs) 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St Sixtus II and His Companions
 
Biographical Information about St Sixtus II and His Companions
 
Or
 
(Optional Memorial for Saint Cajetan, Priest)
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Cajetan
 
Biographical information about St. Cajetan

“The Institution of the Eucharist”
by Nicolas Poussin,1640

 
Readings for Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Numbers 11:4b-15
 
The children of Israel lamented,
“Would that we had meat for food!
We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt,
and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks,
the onions, and the garlic.
But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna.”
 
Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and gathered it up,
the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar,
then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves,
which tasted like cakes made with oil.
At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.
 
When Moses heard the people, family after family,
crying at the entrance of their tents,
so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.
“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord.
“Why are you so displeased with me
that you burden me with all this people?
Was it I who conceived all this people?
Or was it I who gave them birth,
that you tell me to carry them at my bosom,
like a foster father carrying an infant,
to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers?
Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food.’
I cannot carry all this people by myself,
for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress.”
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Commentary on Nm 11:4b-15
 
This excerpt follows the departure of the people from their sojourn in Sinai. The “foreign elements” or “riffraff” (Numbers 11:4a) were dissatisfied with only manna and wanted meat to eat as well. At this lament, the passage describes Moses' complaint to God that the people would not be satisfied. His lament emphasizes that it was not Moses who brought the people out of Egypt, and it was not him who fed them, but the Lord God who did these things. Moses recognizes that freeing the people and depositing them in their own land is beyond the strength and ability of even the prophet.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
 
R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
 
“My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
 
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
 
“Those who hated the LORD would seek to flatter me,
but their fate would endure forever,
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
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Commentary on Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
 
Psalm 81 is a song of thanksgiving. The psalm generally gives thanks for the gift of the law and its prescriptions, recalling also the salvation brought about by God.  These strophes contain a lament for the times when Israel turned from the law and a condemnation for those who do not hear it.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
 
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
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Commentary on Mt 14:13-21
 
St. Matthew’s account of the feeding of the multitudes is framed with Jesus’ grief over the death of his cousin, St. John the Baptist. He hopes to grieve in solitude, and so takes a boat to “a deserted place by himself.” While it is not said explicitly, we assume at least some of the disciples accompanied him in the boat. When the crowds catch up with him (Jesus is well established as an important teacher now), he does not turn them away but continues his work among them.
 
Possibly continuing his formation process with the disciples, Jesus tells them to feed the hungry people rather than dismiss them. The miracle occurs with significant symbolic numbers associated with it. Five loaves and two fish would add up to seven, in Hebrew numerology the perfect or most complete number. The fragments filled twelve baskets, enough for the twelve tribes of Israel. Five thousand men was a representation for a huge number and probably not meant as a census of the participants.
 
For the early Christian, there would have been even more subtle symbolism, as the loaves would represent the “Bread of Life,” the Eucharist; and the fish, the Christian symbol that identified themselves to each other as a consequence of the Greek letters used. Taken in its larger context the story is preparatory to Jesus' final trip to Jerusalem.
 
CCC: Mt 14:13-21 1335; Mt 14:19 1329
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Reflection:
 
The Gospel records Jesus telling his disciples, “give them some food yourselves.” The language is unambiguous. He is telling his disciples to feed this massive crowd. We could surmise that this is just to highlight what he is about to do in feeding the multitudes. But Jesus does not generally invite his friends to participate in his ministry when he is present and then not expect them to accede to his requests. We recall (and will hear tomorrow) another time when the disciples were in a boat. They saw the Lord walking out to them on the water and he invited Peter to come to him (Matthew 14:25-31). When Peter tried and failed the Lord admonished him: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
 
The miracle itself frequently overshadows his invitation to the disciples. St. John’s Gospel presumes it was a test of their faith. The fact is, the Lord expects his disciples to participate with him in feeding those who follow. This is not a passive role.
 
We look around ourselves in this day and age and see the multitudes that are hungry. The poor hunger for basic necessities, food, shelter, and the means to subsist. Others hunger for hope in a secular world that has denied the Lord of Love. We see these various constituencies and pray for them. Even as our heartfelt “Amen” is being uttered, we hear the Lord’s voice: “give them some food yourselves.”
 
We hear that voice and feel like Peter must have felt as he began to sink. “The job is too big and I am but one person, not God.” Unfortunately, that excuse does not let us off the hook. The Lord invites us to participate in his ministry. It is the outward face of our paradox (to be part of the world but separate from it). While we feed ourselves with the bread he gives, we must also share that grace with others.
 
Our prayer today is that we always remember that all of us are asked to participate in the miracle that is Christ Jesus. We are called and we are sent.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “The Institution of the Eucharist” by Nicolas Poussin,1640.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.