Ninth Sunday after Trinity
“And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.”
Summary
How can we hold onto hope in times of trouble and insecurity? The beautiful passage from Isaiah 55:1-5 speaks to a people who have witnessed the destruction of their homeland and the scattering of their people, yet it promises abundance, plenty, security. Moreover, these blessings will not come as a result of their own hard work but as free gifts from God. The prophet speaks in the present tense, this is not a vision for the distant future, this is something that is available now, even in the midst of difficulties. Four times the prophet repeats the imperative: “come”: come and see, come and eat, come and listen, come and live. The gospel echoes the call to participation: In Matthew 14:13-21, the disciples cannot envisage how they are to feed the people who have come to see and to listen. Jesus tells them to just bring whatever they have (even though they say that they have “nothing”). The feast of the loaves and fishes enjoyed by those gathered in a deserted place recalls the feeding of the people of Israel in the wilderness but what is key in this story is the leftovers. The fact that there are any leftovers is a symbol of God’s abundant provision but more than this the leftovers fill 12 baskets. The magic number 12, symbol of the people of God. We need everyone, all the scraps and left overs of humanity, to be gathered in for the kingdom to come. Our job is just to show up, bringing whatever we have, however insignificant, and God will do the rest.
FIRST READING
Isaiah 55:1-5
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
GOSPEL
Matthew 14.13-21
‘Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
