Happy Eighteenth Sunday! It is now the month of August and I’m relishing the last weeks of summer break before the school year gets underway. Labor Day this year arrives as late as it can (Sept. 7), and thus the first day of school won’t meet us until the 25th. So, soak it up while you can!
A few items of note, for the good of the order. I mentioned at Mass a couple of weeks ago that we have been working to finalize the dates for our summer mission appeal priest. It is now confirmed that St. Robert will host the weekend of August 22-23, and Good Shepherd the following weekend of August 29-30. Next year I will attempt to secure a single priest who can serve both parishes on the same weekend. I am a fan of simplified logistics.
Second item: I’m trying to look ahead / plan ahead, and this month I will be working on the bulletin edition of our year-end financials. My goal is to have the figures and commentary published for us before Labor Day. This part of parish life, as I’ve mentioned before, is one concrete way we can celebrate the blessings that God has granted us and examine our parish-wide stewardship. Preliminary results look stable for the fiscal year ending June 30, so that is good.
Today’s gospel story is the miracle of the loaves and fishes. All told, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John aggregate more than three dozen specific miracles of Jesus. Many of these miracles are shared in several gospels, while some of them are only found in one. But besides the Resurrection, the miracle of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle which all four gospel writers record.
To me, that feels significant. It makes me wonder why this miracle was pressed so deeply into their hearts and memories. Maybe it was because it was the one miracle where Jesus made them direct co-operators. Certainly, the apostles witnessed many signs and wonders of Jesus. Occasionally, they were even its recipients. But here, Jesus requires them to supply something from their own meager resources in order to complete his Father’s will. What an “a-ha” moment for us to contemplate.
It is a blindingly scary and exhilarating thought to imagine that the All-Powerful One would not choose to just snap his fingers and turn rocks into bread, or make food appear out of thin air. He could have effortlessly done that, after all. Rather, he looks at you and effectively says, “It’s time for you to do the miracle now.” Knowing already how this is going to unfold, Jesus lets you first peer into your own self to ponder the severe limitations you bring to the table and the impossibility of his command. But here you are, unable to escape, standing before five thousand. Jesus looks at you and waits. What are you thinking? How vulnerable do you feel? What do you do next?
I can understand why this particular miracle must have deeply changed their interior lives. It assailed all their expectations about following this Rabbi as his disciple. We, who are also disciples, clearly need to hear this gospel miracle more so than the others. Look at the meager loaves and fishes in your own life and consider how your expectations compare with God’s.
From Fr. Brian