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The presence of the Lord nourishes our lives
Readings for August 3
by Fr. Richard C. Macey special to The Michigan Catholic
Published July 25, 2008
Readings for August 3
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Aug. 3)
Isaiah 55:1-3
Romans 8:35, 37-39
Matthew 14:13-21 | 55:1-3 Isaiah Reading: First
This chapter is considered by some scholars to be the epilogue for Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55). The context is the Babylonian captivity or shortly after the return from exile. Following the context of the previous chapter, the speaker of these verses is either the Lord or a personified Jerusalem. The last line indicates that it is the Lord who speaks to the people of His "everlasting covenant."
A few exegetes have suggested that the speaker is Lady Wisdom, who invites the people to a banquet, as in Proverbs 9:3-6. But this section of Isaiah generally does not have a favorable view of Wisdom, since it led the people astray to worship idols in Babylon (Isaiah 40:20, 44:25, 47:10).
The abundance of food, and thus the sustenance of life, is offered to all. It is a gift. It does not cost those who respond, even the poor "who have no money." The people only need to "heed me," to obey the word of God. The "benefits assured to David" and his family are now accorded to the whole people.
Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37-39
Paul begins with a rhetorical question. The obvious answer is that nothing "will separate us from the love of Christ." Paul adds the assurance of his own faith and experience to his exhortation. The word "love" is used three times.
Paul relies on the Old Testament image of the love of God for His people, a love which overcame their sinfulness and infidelity. This love is sealed in "Christ Jesus our Lord," equating the love of Jesus and the love of the Lord. There is a continuation.
"What/Who will separate" is the third question posed by Paul. (The first two are skipped over in this pericope.) He builds toward the climax of the victory of God's love over all adversity … even the obstacles which mankind has set up for themselves. Paul lists seven items that face Christians and threaten their security. Seven is number of completeness.
Paul uses a perfect tense of the verb in order to emphasize the absolute certainty of his statement: "For I am convinced …." He then lists 10 other obstacles. Ten is the completeness of order, or, in this case, disorder! He even includes several opposites in order to demonstrate the wide range of things which are overcome. Death leads the list, since it is the result of sin and disobedience, as Paul has demonstrated in earlier chapters in the letter. The effect is complete.
Since the power of God overcomes even these, then there is nothing at all that can "separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord"!
Paul presents an argument that is more pastoral than doctrinal and dogmatic.
He is shoring up the lives of the faithful by encouraging them to persevere against anything that causes them to suffer. These are only transitory evils. They will not last.
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
This is the only miracle told in all four canonical Gospel accounts. The scene and context are given. Already, someone has died for proclaiming repentance, John the Baptist. But the crowds, not just the disciples, followed Jesus. He responded. "His heart was moved with pity for them … He cured their sick."
The miracle has been allegorized as a story about the Eucharist. It uses the four verbs which are used in the Eucharistic prayer: take, bless, break, give.
The Greek word for "fragments" was used for the Eucharistic bread in early Church documents ("Didache" 9:3-4). There are elements which recall the manna in the desert (Exodus 16:13-35; Numbers 11:7-9, 31-32). It also recalls a prophetic act of multiplying bread by Elisha (2 Kings 4:42-44).
There is little emphasis on the miraculous part. There is greater focus on the overabundance provided for all the people rather than the means by which that abundance was provided. In that sense, it reflects an eschatological element of the coming of the Kingdom. It could also be interpreted either materially – the provision of food for the hungry – or spiritually – the presence of God to assure and comfort the people. In either case, the act is accomplished through the hands of the disciples by the command of Jesus: "You give them something to eat."
I go to the nursing home in our area for Mass each month. I pass by a room where a husband is usually visiting his wife with Alzheimer's or dementia.
As I leave, it is lunchtime, and the man is feeding his wife. Sometimes I pause at the doorway without him seeing me. He is very patient, encouraging her to take nourishment with each spoonful he raises to her lips. Something more than simply feeding a person to live for another day is occurring.
There is something intimate and holy about that scene which touches me deeply.
What Jesus provided to both the people, who received the food, and the disciples, who dispersed it, must have been something like that. When we bring something from the Lord to others, we receive much more than what we were able to carry to them. That is a miracle which I witness so often in parish ministry.
Fr. Richard C. Macey is pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Woodhaven.
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