Share Christ with all

Following the insight of our sacred writers, author John Shea often reminds his readers that a faith relationship with God revolves around three questions: What do you want? Where do you get it? How much does it cost?

Deutero-Isaiah asks the same three questions of his exiled community (Is 55:1-3). Forty years into captivity, depressed and dispirited, the people from Israel simply long for life's basics: food and drink. Though most have developed ways of acquiring these essentials, the prophet reminds his people that they're paying too much and getting them from the wrong source: the Babylonian fertility gods.

Free gifts

These descendants of Moses have forgotten that they're party to the covenant their ancestors made with Yahweh, a covenant which guarantees they'll receive all life's essentials -- free.

The prophet proclaims that those who have a relationship with Yahweh can come to the water and drink without paying; can acquire grain, wine and milk and never have to spend a sheckel.

Besides, the cost of practicing fertility cults is a total wash. Only Yahweh's love reaches to the heart of one's life -- and it's totally free.

Emphasizing Jesus in place of Yahweh, Paul follows a similar three-question format and goes even deeper into the essence of life (Rom 8: 35, 37-39). He believes that, no matter our external condition -- even if we lack food and drink and are suffering persecution -- we're still living life at its most profound level as long as we're joined to Jesus in love. The difficult things which turn most people in on themselves are, for Christians, "the trials through which we triumph by the power of Him who loved us."

Matthew adds a specific twist to the three questions, something we rarely think of (Mt 14:13-21). He narrates his story of the miraculous feeding within the context of the early Christian belief that all who become one with Jesus become other Christs. That's why the verbal exchange before the miracle is significant.

The disciples first suggest sending the crowd away so they individually can take care of their food needs. They're surprised when Jesus responds, "There's no need for them to go: Give them something to eat yourselves."

They answer sarcastically, "All we have with us are five loaves and two fish." In other words, "are you out of your mind, expecting us to feed over 5,000 people?"

Jesus ignores their sarcasm and stays with His original plan. "Bring what you have to me," He insists.

When they finally do so, He blesses their small amount, and to their amazement they discover they have more than enough to feed everyone.

Courage

Matthew deliberately constructs his feeding narrative in this way to remind us of an important truth: People should be able to expect us, as other Christs, to care for their needs. And it never costs us or them anything except the humility to take what little we have to Jesus and the courage to offer it to others.

The fact that each of the Gospel bread miracles is written against the background of the Eucharist makes the command to give what we have even more significant. Jesus' first followers believe the Eucharist is the place and the event in which we most share ourselves with others.

Following Paul's advice in I Corinthians 14 that, whenever the community gathers, "one should have a song, another an instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation," I frequently remind my parish community that the person sitting next to them might be hungering not so much for what I say in the homily, but for what the spirit has given them to share.

Those who come to the Eucharist believing priests are the community's only other Christs, understand neither early Christian faith nor the Gospel response to Shea's three questions.

(07-29-99)