Matthew 14:13-33 Click here for the reading
"Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, broke the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers." Matthew 14:19-20
Verbs are important! The 4 verbs above outline in this story of feeding the multitudes of people what God will eventually do on the night before he dies. Matthew intentionally is signally to us this aspect of feeding people in their stomachs (a real need indeed) with the aspect of feeding people with himself, the bread of life. These same 4 verbs are used in the liturgy of the table when we celebrate the words of institution out of Jesus mouth: (Matthew 26:26)
Matthew makes an important connection here: God is just as concerned with your physical well being as God is with your spiritual well being. AND God will provide your life with both. The sacrament of the table is both nourishment for our bodies as it is for our spirits. Those verbs help us connect these two aspects of Jesus ministry but it also helps us focus what we are supposed to be doing. When asked about helping the hungry people on the hill that day, Jesus responded to Andrew; "You feed them." An indication that as disciples of Jesus Christ we are to help feed people's bodies and their spirit.
"Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, broke the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers." Matthew 14:19-20
Verbs are important! The 4 verbs above outline in this story of feeding the multitudes of people what God will eventually do on the night before he dies. Matthew intentionally is signally to us this aspect of feeding people in their stomachs (a real need indeed) with the aspect of feeding people with himself, the bread of life. These same 4 verbs are used in the liturgy of the table when we celebrate the words of institution out of Jesus mouth: (Matthew 26:26)
Matthew makes an important connection here: God is just as concerned with your physical well being as God is with your spiritual well being. AND God will provide your life with both. The sacrament of the table is both nourishment for our bodies as it is for our spirits. Those verbs help us connect these two aspects of Jesus ministry but it also helps us focus what we are supposed to be doing. When asked about helping the hungry people on the hill that day, Jesus responded to Andrew; "You feed them." An indication that as disciples of Jesus Christ we are to help feed people's bodies and their spirit.
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