20190805
FULFILLING
HUMANITY’S HOPES AND DREAMS
05 AUGUST, 2019,
Monday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Numbers 11:4-15 ©
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The sons of Israel complain in the
desert
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The sons of Israel began to wail, ‘Who
will give us meat to eat?’ they said. ‘Think of the fish we used to eat free in
Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic! Here we are wasting
away, stripped of everything; there is nothing but manna for us to look at!’
The
manna was like coriander seed, and had the appearance of bdellium. The people
went round gathering it, and ground it in a mill or crushed it with a pestle;
it was then cooked in a pot and made into pancakes. It tasted like cake made with
oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night-time, the manna fell with it.
Moses
heard the people wailing, every family at the door of its tent. The anger of
the Lord flared out, and Moses greatly worried over this. And he spoke to the
Lord:
‘Why
do you treat your servant so badly? Why have I not found favour with you, so
that you load on me the weight of all this nation? Was it I who conceived all
this people, was it I who gave them birth, that you should say to me, “Carry
them in your bosom, like a nurse with a baby at the breast, to the land that I
swore to give their fathers”? Where am I to find meat to give to all this
people, when they come worrying me so tearfully and say, “Give us meat to eat”?
I am not able to carry this nation by myself alone; the weight is too much for
me. If this is how you want to deal with me, I would rather you killed me! If
only I had found favour in your eyes, and not lived to see such misery as
this!’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 80(81):12-17 ©
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Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
My people did not heed my voice
and Israel would not obey,
so I left them in their stubbornness of
heart
to follow their own designs.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
O that my people would heed me,
that Israel would walk in my
ways!
At once I would subdue their foes,
turn my hand against their
enemies.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
The Lord’s enemies would cringe at their
feet
and their subjection would
last for ever.
But Israel I would feed with finest wheat
and fill them with honey from
the rock.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says
the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except
through me.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt4:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 14:13-21 ©
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The feeding of the five thousand
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When Jesus received the news of John the
Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by
themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him
on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them
and healed their sick.
When
evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and
the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the
villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for
them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we
have with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He
gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the
five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing.
And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the
crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps
remaining; twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men,
to say nothing of women and children.
FULFILLING
HUMANITY’S HOPES AND DREAMS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ NUM 11:4-15; PS 81:12-17; MT 14:22-36 ]
We all have our hopes
and dreams. For
the Hebrews, when they were in Egypt, they cried out to God for deliverance
from their misery under the slavery of the Egyptians. And God heard their
prayers. “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I
have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their
sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and
to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with
milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites.” (Ex 3:7f)
But freedom is not
enough. What is the use
of freedom when we are dying of hunger and thirst? Isn’t this the case
for most of us as well? What is the use of democracy when the country is
full of corruption, injustices and crimes? What is the use of freedom
from our fellowmen when we are enslaved to our desires, addictions, self-centeredness
and selfishness? Such kind of freedom cannot give us true happiness, nor
fulfill the aspirations of humanity!
This was the case of the
Hebrews in the desert.
They gained their freedom but because they were in the desert, having to face
hardships, an austere life, and deprived of the pleasures of life, they became
dissatisfied with Moses and God. “The sons of Israel began to wail, ‘Who
will give us meat to eat?’ they said. ‘Think of the fish we used to eat
free in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic! Here we
are wasting away, stripped of everything; there is nothing but manna for us to
look at!'” In their suffering, they began to think of the good old days
when they had more food, although they had to work hard and contend with less
freedom.
How, then, can we
satisfy the heart of humanity?
The truth is that material and physical needs alone cannot quench the thirst
and hunger of man. Man looks for something more. He looks not just
to freedom but absolute freedom, which is to live in truth and in love.
That was why people from all walks of life followed Jesus even to the desert,
as Moses did with his people, to find something that could really satisfy
them. Leaving their towns, they followed after Him. It is
true that they went for healing and restoration. “So as he stepped ashore
he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.”
But they were seeking something more as well.
Jesus came to restore
all of us to wholeness in life, whether we are physically sick or emotionally
and spiritually hungry. Healing
of the body is not enough unless the soul is healed. Many people seek
physical healing but once cured, they continue to live sinful lives, injuring
their body and soul, which only leads them to illness again. This is
because the cause of their physical illness is not removed. Hence, after
the healing miracles, Jesus took them to another spiritual level which was to
teach them how to love, share and care, and build community. Jesus had
the disciples to sit them down on the grass. “Then he took the five
loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing.
And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples who gave them to the
crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the
scraps remaining, twelve baskets full.” The miracle of the multiplication
of loaves was an anticipation of the heavenly banquet that all of us are called
to partake, which is the Eucharist, itself a foretaste of what heaven is like,
a community of love, united in one mind and heart, in union with God and our
Lord Jesus and with all the saints. What gives us true joy, peace and
happiness is to share in God’s life and love. The Eucharist is therefore
the bread of life for our journey.
But this is where the
challenge lies! It is extremely difficult to help people to live as a
community of love. Even
Moses felt helpless in the face of the grumblings and complaints of the sons of
Israel. He felt inadequate to meet the demands of his people, hearing
“the people wailing, every family at the door of its tent.” In his
exasperation Moses turned to the Lord in prayer. He said, “Why do
you treat your servant so badly? Why have I not found favour with you, so that
you load on me the weight of all this nation? … I am not able to carry this
nation by myself alone; the weight is too much for me. If this is how you
want to deal with me, I would rather you killed me!” The disciples, too,
were dismayed when the Lord told them, “There is no need for them to go: give
them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered, ‘All we have with
us is five loaves and two fish.”
What can we learn from
today’s scripture lessons in building up our community? Firstly, we should stop
grumbling and complaining. Whining and bemoaning our constraints and
limited resources will not help us to move forward. That was what the
people did! They complained against Moses and against God. That was
why “The anger of the Lord flared out, and Moses greatly worried over
this.” The Lord was not angry that they were asking for more food but He
was angry that instead of using their talents and resources to find a solution,
all they did was to lament, complain and regret. They were not using
their initiative and cooperating with God’s grace. This was the same
reaction of the disciples of Jesus.
Secondly, we must use
whatever resources and blessings God has given to us. This was what the Lord expected His
disciples to do. Regardless how inadequate we are in our resources,
skills and manpower, we only have to be generous in sharing what we have and
using them; God will use whatever we can give to Him and multiply our
resources. This was probably what happened in the multiplication of
loaves. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish available and distributed
them to the people. Perhaps, when the people saw how little they had and
yet they gave them out to the people instead of eating it themselves, they must
have been moved and touched by the generosity and selflessness of Jesus and
started to share what they had brought with them. Already they saw how
tired Jesus was, but He put the interests and needs of the people before
Himself. “When Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he
withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves.”
But when “he saw a large crowd…he took pity on them and healed their sick.”
Jesus’ compassion elicited the compassion latent in the hearts of others.
When we do good, we open the hearts of others to do good as well.
Thirdly, we must not
depend on ourselves alone, we must rely on God. The difference between Moses and
the people was that instead of complaining and doing nothing, Moses brought his
struggles to God. He asked the Lord for help and discernment. So,
too, with Jesus. We are told that “he took the five loaves and the two
fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing.” Jesus blessed God
and thanked Him for whatever was at His disposal. He trusted in His
divine providence. After which, He allowed God to work His miracles by having
the bread multiplied, whether miraculously by breaking the laws of nature or
moving the hearts of the people to share their own resources with each other.
Finally, the Lord wants
us to remain humble in all that we do.
The Lord said to St Paul, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made
perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Cor 12:9) Indeed, it is only when we think
we have to do the work all by ourselves, that we become anxious,
agitated. But when we do all we can and let God do the rest, He will show
us that it is not our work and efforts alone that get things done. This
will keep us from becoming egoistic when we are successful in our work.
In this way, we allow God’s power to work in and through us, as St Paul says,
“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this
extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” (2 Cor 4:7)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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