18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - “Give Them Some Food Yourselves”

“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” (Matthew 14:15-21).
 
How much would it take to feed all the hungry people? This is a question with two answers.
 
First, not much at all. The Eucharist—the presence of Jesus among us—is all we need to be fully nourished and satisfied. Receiving the Eucharist is the single most important and powerful act a believer can undertake. The Eucharist. It is really our identity, our assembly, our life.
 
We could take away all the Church’s schools, all the youth centers, all the convents and rectories, all the parish programs—but if we still have the Eucharist, we’re still Catholic. If we filled our schools to the windows and our churches to the rafters, if we had all the buildings and money we thought we’d ever need—but didn’t have the Eucharist—what would we be? Hungry, starving, and spiritually malnourished.
 
How much would it take to feed the hungry people? The second answer, which is connected to the first, is that it would take everything we’ve got! When his disciples asked Jesus this question, his answer was disarming.
 
“Give them some food yourselves,” he told them. Yes, you. Jesus was talking about the real bread of everyday nourishment. The real fish needed for supper tonight.
 
In today’s world, who will feed the hungry? Those nourished with Christ at the Eucharist, that’s who. We tend to think the government will do it or that someone else will surely step in before the hungry starve.
 
But the fact of the matter is that each time we receive Communion we are receiving the Body of Christ which is also who we are, the body of Christ in today’s world. Those who are hungry are waiting for us to get moving.
 
- How does this gospel passage help you understand how we, as Christians, are called upon to feed the hungry?
 
Adapted from PrayerTime: Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, available at the RENEW International store