When we hear about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, what’s called the “eucharistic imagery” makes many of us recall the Last Supper. We heard in this morning’s gospel, for example, that Jesus took the food in His hands, raised His eyes toward heaven, recited the blessing, and broke it, and the distributed the pieces to the disciples to hand out.
Sounds pretty much like what we do here at Mass each Sunday, doesn’t it?
But, there’s one critical difference: What the disciples distributed didn’t run out. Moreover, from two loaves and five fish they brought to Jesus, they disciples not only fed all five thousand people in the vast crowd but there were plenty of leftovers for thousands of additional people.
“Gather up the fragments,” Jesus instructed the disciples, “so they won’t go to waste.”
For Catholics who possess what I’ve been calling a childish, “Christmas crib” faith, that’s where the story ends. And, it’s where Sunday Mass ends…right after receiving Holy Communion, some folks don’t stay for dessert—the final blessing that’s part of what’s called the “Dismissal Right.” They run right out the door having “paid their dues.” Where’s the thanksgiving to God for the Bread of Life?
For these Catholics, going to Mass is like taking a trip to Las Vegas: “What happens at church stays at church.”
As I’ve observed on many occasions, the Mass ends not with the reception of Holy Communion but as Christ Crucified leads us out of the church and into the world. Having been nourished by the Eucharist—through Word and Sacrament—Jesus commissions each of us to bring the abundance of what we’ve been entrusted each Sunday to those thousands who weren’t present. The idea isn’t “what happens at church stays at church” but to bring what Jesus has given us “in here” to all those people “out there.” There are literally thousands of people each of us potentially can impact each and every week by providing the nourishment they need to come to see—similar to the blind man Jesus healed in the Gospel of John—that what they need is found “in here” at Mass. Yes, they might even give thanks to God for the Bread of Life we’ve distributed to them by coming to Mass to participate in what’s called the “source and summit” of our faith: the Eucharist (a Greek verb meaning “to give thanks”).
For Catholics who possess a what I’ve been calling a more childlike “Good Friday crucifix” faith, today’s gospel reading communicates two opposite ways that disciples behave.
The first way—like the disciples in today’s gospel who were thinking practically and asked “How could I possibly?”—these disciples think first and foremost about providing for themselves. In the event there might be leftovers, sure they might share the crumbs with people like Lazarus. But, more oftentimes than not, they toss those leftovers into the garbage.
Just like who have a childish “Christmas crib” faith hoard their food, so also with material things. Interestingly, when they’ve had enough of those things, those folks discover they’re still hungry. So, what do they do with all of those things they’ve hoarded? Take a gander at their closets, attics, garages, and basements! Some of those folks have acquired so many things there’s no more room in their houses. What do they do? They build a shed out back or rent a storage facility for everything they just can’t seem to part with. Thinking practically, they may sell some of those things at a yard sale, turning a profit from their junk. Or, they generously donate it to charity...for a tax deduction, of course.
That’s neither generosity nor an act of charity. Not only that: There’s nothing for which they give thanks to God. It’s what Jesus’ practical-minded disciples did when they told him to “send the people away so they can go and find, let them fend for themselves.”
The second way of thinking that’s found in today’s gospel—God’s way of thinking—is the logic of taking personal responsibility for others and their needs. This isn’t the logic of washing one’s hands of responsibility for others and satisfying one’s desires first without a care for what others may need, like the disciples in today’s gospel. Instead, these disciples are impractical and, like Jesus, say “Let’s see what we’ve got here, offer what little there is to God for a blessing, then distribute it to those who are in need.” Then they can go and do likewise “in memory of me.”
In this way, those who possess a childlike “Good Friday crucifix” faith resemble successful entrepreneurs. These disciples aren’t concerned with the facts, only what’s possible. They doesn’t fret about what appears meager and not useful, only its potential. Likewise, these disciples don’t say “I don’t have enough time,” only how to adjust their schedule to make it work. They don’t say “I’m too busy,” but immediately stop what they’re doing to see what they can do. Lastly, they don’t say “Leave me alone,” but ask “How might I help?”
With generous and charitable gestures like these which emerge from the clean heart God is creating in them—we did pray with the Psalmist today, “Create a clean heart in me, O God”—disciples like these have a “Good Friday crucifix” faith, demonstrating its power not in spectacular ways but as they embody God’s love for others. They immerse themselves in the lives of people and their needs and, understanding their fatigue and limitations, offering from what little they may possess the Bread of Life that nourishes those people in their need.
This is how those with a “Good Friday crucifix” are “entrepreneurs of charity.” They evangelize others by bringing God into the middle of their lives and, ultimately, recognize their need for the Eucharist by giving thanks to God . These entrepreneurs of charity reveal to others the same compassion and tenderness Jesus showed the crowds…not pious and pretentious, sentimental gestures but a concrete manifestation of God’s love Who cares for people’s needs by sending these disciples Catholics to minister to them. And they do so, first, by having compassion both for others and their needs and, second, by evangelizing them through God’s love and care for them.
Notice the important dynamic:
- Charity begets thanksgiving.
- Selfishness breeds anguish.
That represents our challenge from Scripture for this week: To become “entrepreneurs of charity.”
How might we do that?
This week:
- Eliminate three declarative statements from your life: “I don’t have enough time!”, “I’m too busy!”, and “Leave me alone!” (or their variants).
- Instead, add these two interrogative statements to your life: “Could you give me a minute to readjust my schedule?” and “How can I help?”
- Then, immerse yourself directly in the lives of those people and their needs, seeking to understand better their fatigue and limitations, lifting up and offering to God what little you have, asking Him to consecrate it—time, ability, willingness, interest, skill, energy, and the like—to distribute the Bread of Life that will nourish those people in their need.
These generous and charitable gestures, given freely and lovingly from the little we possess to others in their need, will strengthen the theological virtue of charity and assist God to create a cleaner heart in each of us. These gestures will also strengthen our “Good Friday crucifix” faith as we demonstrate it not in spectacular ways but as we embody God’s love for others.
As St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, this is how we will begin this week to conduct ourselves “in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.”
As we “do this in memory of me,” our “Good Friday crucifix” faith will make of us “entrepreneurs of charity.” We will evangelize others by bringing God into the middle of their lives. Ultimately, those olks will experience their need to give thanks to God. Showing them the same compassion and tenderness Jesus showed towards the crowds…a concrete manifestation of God’s love Who cares for the people’s needs by sending Catholics like you and me to minister to them.
This week, let’s leave behind our childish “Christmas crib” faith by thinking the way Jesus showed us in today’s Gospel. It’s this journey of faith which is essential because it begins with God and returns both us and those to whom we minister to God. And, it this way, “What happens at church won’t stay at church” but multiple from what little we may possess today.
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