Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 1st December
Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 1st December 2021
As we continue our Advent journey, today’s Gospel passage from Matthew, (Mt 15: 29-37), recounts many of the miracles of Jesus, miracles of healing, all summed up in one short paragraph, and one of several miracles of the feeding of a large crowd of people. In these miracles we see Jesus fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, on how the Messiah would manifest his presence among the people of Israel. Here is the short paragraph of healing miracles.
“Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.”
We note how those seeking healing at the hands of Jesus were brought to him by others. He had, after all, gone up into the hills. Usually this would have been so that he could be alone and pray. Each one of those categories of disability or sickness was listed by Isaiah as privileged to receive healing at the hands of the Messiah, yet strangely Matthew does not mention this directly.
In the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish, no specific number is mentioned. They are simply called crowd or crowds. Let us see what Matthew writes on this occasion, bearing in mind it follows on directly from the above.
“But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.”
Again, the Messiah would feed the hungry, as Israel was often plagued with famine and the most prevalent image of the kingdom or eternal life was that of a banquet of rich, succulent foods and good wine. It’s three days that the crowds have been with Jesus and they have eaten nothing all that time, so the feeding is also a prophecy of resurrection and eternal life. From seven loaves and a few small fish, Jesus is able to feed the crowds and he does this with words and gestures that recall the Eucharist and the Last Supper. The disciples started with seven loaves, were able to feed a great crowd and still ended up with seven baskets full of leftovers. The Messiah would bring an abundance not simply of food, but of all God’s good gifts. We should not forget that those people had spent three whole days fasting in order to see, hear and experience the healing hand of Jesus. In Advent we focus on the fact the Jesus was the fulfilment of the hopes of Israel, the answer to his people’s prayers. We, too, pray now, Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
