{"id":4037,"date":"2011-07-27T17:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-28T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=4037"},"modified":"2015-03-19T14:46:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T21:46:15","slug":"lectionary-notes-2011-07-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2011\/07\/27\/lectionary-notes-2011-07-31\/","title":{"rendered":"Lectionary Notes: Feeding The Hungry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #999999\"><em>Things have been a bit non-stop this last week, so I&#8217;m afraid these notes are late, slightly shorter than usual and a little bit rushed, but as GK Chesterton said,\u00a0<em>&#8220;If something is worth doing, it&#8217;s worth doing badly&#8221;&#8230;<\/em><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 31st July, 2011<\/h2>\n<h3>Reading 1:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/nab\/bible\/isaiah\/isaiah55.htm#v1\">Isaiah 55:1-3<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>After Jeremiah, Isaiah is my favourite prophet. This book is often called &#8220;The Fifth Gospel&#8221; and, with a passage like this, it&#8217;s easy to see why. Here, God gives a beautiful invitation to His people to come and be satisfied, to return to Him, to come and be filled free of charge! Why settle for anything less?<\/p>\n<p>When we recognize our hunger and our dependence on God, He will fill us and give us life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Thus says the LORD:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;All you who are thirsty,\u00a0come to the water!<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> You who have no money,\u00a0come, receive grain and eat;<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> Come, without paying and without cost,\u00a0drink wine and milk!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Why spend your money for what is not bread;\u00a0your wages for what fails to satisfy?<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> Heed me, and you shall eat well,\u00a0you shall delight in rich fare.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> Come to me heedfully,\u00a0listen, that you may have life.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,\u00a0the benefits assured to David&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Suggested Questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is the general invitation of this passage?<\/li>\n<li>What does this food and drink cost? What does this say about God?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think the <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;water&#8221;<\/span><\/em> here represents?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think the <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;grain&#8221;<\/span><\/em> here represents?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think the <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;wine&#8221;<\/span><\/em> here represents?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think the <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;milk&#8221;<\/span><\/em> here represents?<\/li>\n<li>In what way do we <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;spend [our] money on what is not bread&#8221;<\/span><\/em>?<\/li>\n<li>Why do we do spend our <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;wages for what fails to satisfy&#8221;<\/span><\/em>?<\/li>\n<li>What is promised together with this food?<\/li>\n<li>What was the promise God made to David?<\/li>\n<li>How do we experience the invitation of this passage today?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\nCommentary:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;All you who are thirsty,\u00a0come to the water!&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">In this we can see the soul thirsting for God like a deer panting for water (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm%2042:1&amp;version=NIV\">Psalm 42:1<\/a>). We can also see this as the &#8220;living water&#8221; described by Jesus to the woman at the well (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%204:10&amp;version=NIV\">John 4:10<\/a>) and Jesus&#8217; promise of living water flowing from within (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%207:38&amp;version=NIV\">John 7:38<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Those who are thirsty realize their need for something. If we recognize our need, God will supply it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Wisdom makes a similar invitation in the book of Proverbs:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>&#8220;Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed&#8221; &#8211; Proverbs 9:5<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;You who have no money,\u00a0come, &#8230;.<em>Come, without paying and without cost<\/em>&#8220;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">This speaks of God&#8217;s grace, His goodness, His free gift to us&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">In times of extreme hardship even water had to be paid for (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=lam%205:4&amp;version=NIV\">Lamentations\u00a05:4<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;&#8230;<em>receive grain&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">We associate<\/span><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em> &#8220;grain&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u00a0with bread, reminding us of the manna in the desert (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+6:31&amp;version=NIV\">John 6:31<\/a>),\u00a0the Lord&#8217;s Prayer for &#8220;daily bread&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew+6:11&amp;version=NIV\">Matthew 6:11<\/a>) and ultimately the Eucharist (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Corinthians+10:16&amp;version=NIV\">1 Corinthians 10:16<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;&#8230;drink wine and milk!&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Wine speaks of richness, enjoyment and abundance (and ultimately the cup of the Eucharist).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Milk speaks of nurture and growth, but also of abundance &#8211; the land of Israel was known as the land flowing &#8220;with milk and honey&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=ex+33%3A3&amp;version=NIV\">Exodus 33:3<\/a>).\u00a0As an interesting side note, it appears that in the early centuries of Christianity, those newly-baptised would also receive a cup of milk and honey to signal their arrival into the spiritual &#8220;promised land&#8221; and to also strengthen them since it is the food of newborns (Tertullian, The crown or De Corona, Chapter 3).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;Why spend your money for what is not bread;\u00a0your wages for what fails to satisfy?&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">We so often accept the counterfeit, those things which promise to\u00a0fulfill\u00a0us, but fail to do so since only God can truly satisfy (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=deut%208:3&amp;version=NIV\">Deuteronomy 8:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">I also saw one commentary which suggested this possibly refers to the husks of pagan religious practices.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;Heed me, and you shall eat well,\u00a0you shall delight in rich fare&#8230;.<em>listen, that you may have life<\/em>&#8220;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Being fed by the Lord implies that we listen carefully to Him. When we do so, we find new life. As Jesus said &#8220;life in abundance&#8221; (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+10:10&amp;version=NIV\">John 10:10<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;<em>I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,\u00a0the benefits assured to David&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">The Lord had promised David an everlasting dynasty (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20sam%207:14-16&amp;version=NIV\">2 Samuel 7:14-16<\/a>) from which would come the Messiah&#8230;.Jesus. Peter actually quotes this passage on His Pentecost day speech:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\"><em>&#8220;God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,\u00a0\u2018I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David'&#8221; &#8211; Acts 13:34<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/pure_water.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"189\" height=\"202\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Responsorial Psalm:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/nab\/bible\/psalms\/psalm145.htm#v8\">Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>This week&#8217;s psalm is another acrostic psalm which speaks of God&#8217;s care and His provision for those He has created.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>R. (cf. 16)\u00a0<strong>The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>The LORD is gracious and merciful,\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>slow to anger and of great kindness.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>The LORD is good to all<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>and compassionate toward all his works.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>The eyes of all look hopefully to you,<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>and you give them their food in due season;<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>you open your hand<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>and satisfy the desire of every living thing.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>The LORD is just in all his ways<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>and holy in all his works.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>The LORD is near to all who call upon him,<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>to all who call upon him in truth.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Suggested Questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is the main thrust of this psalm?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Reading II: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/nab\/bible\/romans\/romans8.htm#v35\">Romans 8:35, 37-39<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Paul declares that nothing, not even suffering, can separate us from God&#8217;s love. This isn&#8217;t saying &#8220;once saved always saved&#8221; (we can choose to reject God&#8217;s grace), but that nothing is more powerful than the love of Christ and no outside force can threaten it. Nothing can separate us, absolutely nothing. Even if we suffer, even this cannot separate us from Christ&#8217;s love and through Him we will\u00a0<em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;conquer overwhelmingly&#8221;.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Brothers and sisters:\u00a0<\/em><\/span><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #800000\"><em>What will separate us from the love of Christ?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,\u00a0or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly\u00a0through him who loved us.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,\u00a0nor angels, nor principalities,\u00a0nor present things, nor future things,\u00a0nor powers, nor height, nor depth,\u00a0nor any other creature will be able to separate us\u00a0from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Suggested Questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is Paul&#8217;s main assertion in this section of Romans?<\/li>\n<li>What do we imagine will separate us from God&#8217;s love?<\/li>\n<li>Did Paul experience these?<\/li>\n<li>Why doesn&#8217;t Paul include sin in this list?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Commentary:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;What will separate us from the love of Christ?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,\u00a0or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Can suffering or persecution separate us from Christ&#8217;s love? Short answer: No!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">These are covenant curses in the Old Testament and in verse 36 (which we don&#8217;t have), Paul quotes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%2044:22%20&amp;version=NIV\">Psalm 44:22<\/a> where the psalmist questions why the righteous suffer together with the sinners. In light of Christ we see how we are called to imitate Him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Paul had experienced most these sufferings, so he could speak from experience. He would ultimately depart this earth through <span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;the sword&#8221;<\/em><\/span>\u00a0(he was beheaded), yet through this martyrdom he became <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">more fully<\/span> united with Christ.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly\u00a0through him who loved us&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Rather than conquer through our own abilities, we conquer <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">through Christ<\/span>\u00a0whose great act of Calvary love destroyed death.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Also, this <span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;conquer[ing]&#8221;<\/em><\/span> can often look to the world like the complete opposite of &#8220;conquering&#8221;. If you remember, when we looked at Polycarp&#8217;s\u00a0Martyrdom, we were told he <span style=\"color: #000000\"><em>&#8220;overcame the unjust magistrate&#8221;<\/em><\/span> &#8211; to the world it looked like the complete opposite!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,\u00a0nor angels, nor principalities,\u00a0nor present things, nor future things,\u00a0nor powers, nor height, nor depth,\u00a0nor any other creature will be able to separate us\u00a0from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">What cannot separate us from the love of Christ?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\">Existence: <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;death&#8230;life&#8221;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\nSpirits: <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;angels&#8230;principalities&#8221;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\nTime: <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;present things&#8230;future things&#8221;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\nAstronomical Forces: <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;height&#8230;depth&#8221;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">One commentary also suggested that <span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;<em>height&#8230;depth&#8221;<\/em><\/span>\u00a0may be being used to indicate that we cannot get out of God&#8217;s reach. Exactly what each of these items are doesn&#8217;t actually really matter. It boils down to this: no created thing\u00a0can separate us from the love of God \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Gospel:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/nab\/bible\/matthew\/matthew14.htm#v13\">Matthew 14:13-21<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>It is significant that the feeding of the multitude appears in every single Gospel. The Early Church Fathers saw this event as a clear reference to the Eucharist, in which God miraculously feeds His people. John places this event at the Passover, one year before the Passion (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John%206:4&amp;version=NIV\">John 6:4<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In this passage Jesus shows Himself to be a shepherd (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=ez%2034:23-31&amp;version=NIV\">Ezekiel 34:23-31<\/a>) like David (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm%2023&amp;version=NIV\">Psalm 23<\/a>)\u00a0who lays His flock down in green pastures. He prepares for them a banquet.\u00a0This whole episode is prefigured in the smaller-scale mass feeding by the prophet Elisha (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Kings%204:42-44&amp;version=NIV\">2 Kings 4:42-44<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,\u00a0he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.\u00a0The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,\u00a0\u201cThis is a deserted place and it is already late;<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages\u00a0and buy food for themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Jesus said to them, \u201cThere is no need for them to go away;\u00a0give them some food yourselves.\u201d \u00a0But they said to him,\u00a0\u201cFive loaves and two fish are all we have here.\u201d\u00a0Then he said, \u201cBring them here to me, \u201d\u00a0and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,\u00a0he said the blessing, broke the loaves,<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> and gave them to the disciples,\u00a0who in turn gave them to the crowds. \u00a0They all ate and were satisfied,<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em> and they picked up the fragments left over\u2014\u00a0twelve wicker baskets full. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>Those who ate were about five thousand men,\u00a0not counting women and children.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Suggested Questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who was John the Baptist?<\/li>\n<li>How is Jesus&#8217; humanity demonstrated here? What can we learn from this?<\/li>\n<li>What lesson do you think Jesus was trying to teach His disciples here?<\/li>\n<li>How do you think those disciples would have felt?<\/li>\n<li>Does this episode have any resonance with events of the Old Testament?<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-style-span\">What might this miraculous feeding prefigure?<\/span><\/li>\n<li>What is the significance of the left-over scraps? Why do you think that there were twelve baskets?<\/li>\n<li>What did the crowd do to earn the food given to them by Jesus?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Commentary:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,\u00a0he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">John was Jesus&#8217; cousin and forerunner, the figure of Elijah who was to\u00a0precede\u00a0the Messiah. In response to his death, Jesus goes to a secluded place, no doubt to pray.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.\u00a0When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,\u00a0<\/em><em>his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">His compassion causes Him to minister to the crowds who come to Him for help. He was indeed the good shepherd.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, &#8216;This is a deserted place and it is already late;<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800000\"> <em>dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages\u00a0and buy food for themselves.&#8217; &#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">I appreciate this line of thought &#8211; very practical \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>&#8220;Jesus said to them, &#8216;There is no need for them to go away;\u00a0give them some food yourselves.'&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Jesus invites the disciples to offer <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">what they have<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;But they said to him, &#8216;Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.'&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">The provisions they had were few, but what they had, they offered.\u00a0St. John, Patriarch of Alexandria said that the loves signify alms.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">You often find in early Christian artwork of loaves and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">fishes<\/span>, even within the setting of the Last Supper.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">It&#8217;s interesting to note that 5 + 2 = 7, the covenant number, associated with fullness and completeness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,\u00a0he said the blessing, broke the loaves,\u00a0<\/em><em>and gave them&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">Matthew underscores here the similarity with the Last supper: <em><span style=\"color: #800000\">&#8220;took&#8230;blessed&#8230;broke&#8230;gave&#8221;<\/span><\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew%2026:26&amp;version=NIV\">Matthew 26:26<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;&#8230;gave them to the disciples,\u00a0who in turn gave them to the crowds&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">This prefigures the priesthood &#8211; it is God who supplies the heavenly food, but His ministers are used to bring it to the people.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;They all ate and were satisfied&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">&#8230;just like Isaiah promised<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;&#8230;and they picked up the fragments left over&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">A sign of abundance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;twelve wicker baskets full&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">The number twelve is significant because it is the number of the tribes of Israel and the number of Apostles, the <em>&#8220;pillars of the Church&#8221;<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Galatians%202:9&amp;version=NIV\">Galatians\u00a02:9<\/a>). This works out as a basket-full per Apostle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><em>&#8220;Those who ate were about five thousand men,\u00a0not counting women and children&#8221;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">God takes what we offer and can multiply it many times over when it is offered in the service of His Kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things have been a bit non-stop this last week, so I&#8217;m afraid these notes are late, slightly shorter than usual and a little bit rushed, but as GK Chesterton said,\u00a0&#8220;If something is worth doing, it&#8217;s worth doing badly&#8221;&#8230; 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 31st July, 2011 Reading 1:\u00a0Isaiah 55:1-3 After Jeremiah, Isaiah is my favourite prophet. This book is often<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,25],"tags":[269,2969,307,306],"class_list":["post-4037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-sunday-lectionary","tag-eucharist","tag-featured","tag-hunger","tag-thirst"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4037"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56347,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4037\/revisions\/56347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}