Reading 1
Is 25:6-10a
On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.
Gospel
Mt 15:29-37
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way.”
The disciples said to him,
“Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?”
Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.”
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.
Meditation: Matthew 15:29-37
They all ate and were satisfied. (Matthew 15:37)
Here’s a question to ponder. If this is a genuine miracle, and Jesus really is the Son of God, why didn’t he give the apostles exactly the right amount of food for this crowd? Why did they end up with extra bread? Did he think that the disciples might get hungry again? Did he anticipate more people showing up later? Probably not. More likely, Jesus wanted to teach them something about leftovers.
The number of baskets remaining—seven—can give us a clue. In Jewish thought, the number seven was an expression of perfection, the kind of perfection found only in God. It took Yahweh six days to create the world, and then he rested on the seventh. It was a day of satisfaction and plenty. It was a time to enjoy his creation, a creation so good and complete that it couldn’t be improved upon. In the same way, the bread that Jesus provided satisfied the crowd in a way that no earthly food could (Matthew 15:37).
The number seven also shows us God’s limitless generosity. Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy-seven times, that is, always (Matthew 18:22). Jesus knew that Peter could be so forgiving because God’s mercy is boundless.
Notice also that the apostles started with seven baskets, and they finished with seven baskets. It was Jesus’ way of saying that whenever we give to someone, relying on God’s resources, we will never run out. So these fragments weren’t really leftovers. They were part of his endless supply of blessings!
All of these points apply in a special way to the Eucharist, the Bread of Life that Jesus gives us every day at Mass. This bread, which is his body, is unlike any other food we could ever eat. It is perfect, lacking in nothing. It is full of God’s eternal, unlimited blessings. When we eat in faith, surrendering our hearts to Jesus, he fills us with everything we need. He satisfies our hearts’ desires. And he gives us plenty of “leftover” grace to share with everyone we will encounter. What a generous, loving God he is!
“Lord, I put all my trust in you. I know that you have the answers I am looking for. I believe that your body and blood can give me everything I am lacking. You are my strength and my song!”
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