“Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down … Great crowds came to Him … with … the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. … He cured them. The crowds were amazed and they glorified the God of Israel. * * * ”
Mass Readings 12.3.14 – IS 25:6-10A – PS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6 – MT 15:29-37
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FIRST READING: Isaiah 25:6-10A
The Holy Prophet Isaiah explains that God will Provide, destroy death, wipe away tears and Save us. We are to respond by rejoicing and giving glory to God for doing so.
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples [a] feast … He will destroy death forever … wipe away the tears from all faces; The reproach of His People He will remove from the whole earth … the LORD has spoken.
I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
GOSPEL: Matthew 15:29-37 – Feeding of the 4,000 and Miraculous Healings
Jesus is followed by a large crowd to a mountain, where He miraculously heals many, and then miraculously feeds more then 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.
He is walking by the Sea of Galilee and goes up a large mountain, when great crowds seek Him out and bring him the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute and others to be healed by Him. They are amazed by what sound like a multitude of miracles and they respond by glorifying God.
All of this unfolds over three days. The crowds stay for three days. Jesus then tells the Disciples that He is concerned that the crowd is able to eat:
Jesus summoned His Disciples and said, ‘My Heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.’ … He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
We note how:
- Jesus heals miraculously
- the response to His Help is to Glorify God
- Jesus’ cares about our basic needs, such as food, such that His Heart is moved with pity
- Jesus provides in a manner that, in our ordinary human experience, would be considered Miraculous; yet He simply Wills it and the food multiplies
- yet Jesus does not simply make the food appear out of thin air; He works His miracle in a way that He involves the Disciples and the crowd, to distribute amongst themselves, starting with the resources that already exist as the result of whatever human industriousness or neighborly given has produced; He does simply Create, He multiplies
