By Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3; Responsorial: Psalm 145:8-9, 15-18; Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37-39; Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
Isaiah 54 marvels at God’s redemption and love for his people: “The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit … for a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back” (54:6-7). God’s people repented of their sins and even endured suffering. Isaiah 54 expresses God’s mercy and forgiveness for his people. God promises them: “my love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken” (54:10).
Isaiah 55 (today’s reading) rejoices over the restoration of God’s relationship, his covenant, with his people. The Lord lovingly persuades his people to return to him: “Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.” If they do, God promises them: “I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David” (55:3).
Isaiah 54 and Isaiah 55 are the fourth and fifth readings of the Easter Vigil liturgy. Together they express wondrous gratitude at God’s merciful redemption and the joy of experiencing a fully restored relationship with God. Thus, they are perfect readings for the Easter Vigil when we marvel at how Jesus has redeemed humanity from sin and death, and has restored us to right relationship with God the Father.
Exodus 19-24 recount how God made his covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. Even before this, God fed the Israelites with manna from heaven and with water from the rock, as described in Exodus 16-17. In the same way, God continued to satisfy the Israelites’ hunger and thirst after they left Mount Sinai, during their subsequent 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Since Isaiah 54-55 describe God’s restoration of his covenant with Israel, it is fitting that the Lord God again satisfies their hunger: “You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; drink wine and milk!” Likewise for those “who are thirsty, come to the water” (55:1)! God will provide all that we need. In response, we obey his commands: “Heed me … Come to me heedfully … listen.” For those who obey, God promises lasting life with him.
Our second reading is the dramatic conclusion of Romans 8, in which St. Paul describes the unsurpassed graces that we are presently receiving as disciples of Christ — also called “life in the Spirit.” By means of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, we now know “the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In today’s reading, Paul rhetorically asks: “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul’s implied answer is: “nothing!” Paul dramatically asks if any type of suffering can separate us from Christ. Even persecution, famine and violence are unable to separate us from Christ’s love. Instead, Paul says “we conquer overwhelmingly.” This victory is a consequence of Christ’s love for us, expressed by his willingness to suffer and die for us.
Paul again asserts that absolutely nothing can separate us from Christ. Death cannot, nor can “angels … nor principalities … nor powers” (Romans 8:37). These last two almost certainly describe types of angels — most likely evil angels who would wish to harm us. Paul insists that malevolent evil spirits are completely powerless before Jesus Christ. As St. Paul says “nor [can] any other creature” separate us from God’s love. This includes unseen creatures such as evil spirits. In his mercy, God saves us and protects us from all harm through Christ Jesus.
Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 14:13-21) is immediately preceded by the execution of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. He was a son of “Herod the Great” who ruled Galilee after the death of his father.
Hearing of John’s death, Jesus “withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” Jesus often did this so that he might pray to God the Father. But Jesus also had a deep desire to heal the many people who were continually coming to him. On this occasion, a huge crowd pursued and found Jesus although he was in “a deserted place.” Jesus’ “heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.”
After this, Jesus also wishes to feed the massive crowd — although his disciples urge him to send the crowds away instead so that they might acquire their own food. What follows is one of Jesus’ best-known miracles: “the feeding of the five thousand men.” The Gospel notes this large number was “not counting women and children.”
Jesus and his disciples have only five loaves and two fish, and yet Jesus miraculously feeds the whole crowd by his divine power. Note Jesus’ actions — “taking” the loaves and fish, he “said the blessing” over them, “broke” them, and then “gave” them. These are quite similar to Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, as recorded by Paul (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and by the Gospels (Mark 14:22-25, Matthew 26:26-29, and Luke 22:15-20). Paul says Jesus “gave thanks” over the bread. Mark says Jesus “gave thanks” over the wine. “Eucharist” means “to give thanks.” Here in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish, Jesus is “looking up to heaven” — an act of thanksgiving and prayer.
Before this, Jesus had withdrawn “to a deserted place by himself.” But Jesus was followed by the crowd of people, whom Jesus then feeds. The text says Jesus works this miracle “in a deserted place” (14:13) outside of the villages.
The final verse says that after “they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve wicker baskets full.” This shows that Jesus provided an abundance of food for the crowd. There is a similar event recorded in 2 Kings 4:42-44. The prophet Elisha told his servant to place 20 barley loaves before 100 men. Like Jesus’ disciples, Elisha’s servant objects that such a large crowd cannot be fed with so little. Elisha responds that the LORD says: “You will eat and have some left over” — and so it happens. But Jesus feeds many more people with fewer bread loaves, which shows that Jesus is greater than the prophet Elisha.