Sunday Reflection with Fr Terry Tastard - 31 July 2011

The news of John the Baptist's death came as a shock to Jesus and his little band of disciples. They must have been shaken. If it happened to John, then clearly it could happen to them too. The first response of Jesus is to take time away from the crowds so that they could think and pray. It would be a time when they could seek God's will afresh and strengthen one another also. But it was not to be. The crowds guessed where they were going and got there ahead of them. Jesus has to pick up his ministry of healing immediately. The pressure must have been immense.

Recently I had orthopaedic surgery on the NHS. As I progressed through the series of consultations, tests, operation and rehabilitation, I was struck time and again by the pressure on the staff. There was a constant stream of people, some with urgent conditions, some waiting patiently, others not so patiently. It struck me how day in, day out, the staff worked under great pressure. So the first lesson I draw from the gospel today (Mt 14.13-21) is its reminder of the cost of healing work. We take it for granted when others give us their healing skills. We think it is their job, but often it is their vocation, and it comes at a cost for them. How to find a balance in life is a struggle in such circumstances. We know that Jesus will be rising early in the morning to go to a quiet place so that he can seek that precious communion with his heavenly Father.

Jesus not only heals the people, he feeds them. A little food becomes nourishment for a vast multitude. It makes us think of the eucharist, where there is literally a limitless supply of God's grace, given through the Mass to countless numbers of people for twenty centuries, across the world. But we notice that Jesus accomplishes the miracle of the feeding by challenging the disciples: 'Give them something to eat yourselves' he says to them. They are bewildered, but none the less they bring out their five loaves and two fish. Somehow, it is enough to feed a multitude. The message? God will work miracles, but we have to play our part too. Looking at the world around us we feel so inadequate. We can hardly get to grips with the challenges of our own lives, so who are we to help others? But God chooses to work through frail human beings. Bring what you can to the table, he challenges us, and then see what I can do with what you bring.

The truth is, that sharing of food was a continuation of the healing brought by Jesus. Those who sat down on that hillside knew that the food had come with a blessing. It came marked with the love of God. To those clamouring and sometimes confused people it was a moment of dignity. They did not have to beg or work for this food, and they were given as much as they needed to eat. Even so, they did not eat in squalor, because the scraps were carefully picked up afterwards. It was also a moment of deep community. We know this because the gospel is at pains to state that women and children were fed alongside the men. Like the eucharist will do later, this meal transcends the usual divisions of society to draw people together. You sense in the gospel how the memory of the occasion stayed with those who were there. All those present found themselves wondering what it meant.


Fr Terry is Parish Priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Brook Green, west London. His latest book: Ronald Knox and English Catholicism is published by Gracewing at £12.99 and is available on Amazon, on ICN's front page. To read Sr Gemma Simmonds' review on ICN see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16114