Homily

The Gospel for this eighteenth Sunday recounts the first multiplication of the loaves in Matthew. The episode is reported a good six times in the Gospels (twice in Matthew and Mark and once in Luke and John, respectively). It had evidently caused quite an impression on the community of the first disciples, so much that it forms part of the few Gospel pages that are common to all four evangelists, of those, we could say, that synthesize Jesus’ very mission. From the beginning of the narrative, we are touched by the tenderness and compassion of the prophet from Nazareth. He, after learning that the Baptist was killed, withdraws to the desert. The Baptist’s death is a dangerous sign for him, too. But the people keep following him; they track him closely. This time, after he has gone into the boat, they hurry and run to the other shore where he will land. In effect, when he reaches the lakeside, Jesus sees before him that whole crowd. They are hungry people, exhausted by fatigue and, above all, seeking a shepherd, someone who will tend to their needs. Jesus’ heart, as many other times happened, cannot keep from being moved. He heals the sick people they bring before him, and then, as was his habit, he stays with them and begins to speak and teach. Everyone listens to him until the evening. It is worth noting that the crowd did not lack bread. What they lacked most of all was true words for their lives, words about their future and their destiny. They lacked someone who would bend down to them and their sick friends. This is why they stayed all day to listen to Jesus. In this scene, we can see the icon of Jesus’ words: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Nonetheless, the Lord knows that people do live on bread, at least in part. Elsewhere in the Gospel he had said: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink...But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt 6:25-34). This is exactly what happens is this passage about the multiplication of the loaves. But the disciples, who believe they are more thoughtful than Jesus, interrupt him in the late afternoon: "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." This is normal behaviour, almost thoughtful. But Jesus retorts: "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." There is here an invitation for everyone to take responsibility against the well-rooted habit of saying: "Every man for himself!" which is what the disciples are thinking, or "let the authorities take care of it!" The Lord asks his disciples to behave in a completely different way. The crowd does not have to be sent away. They, the disciples, are the ones who should help the people.
The Lord says this knowing well that there is little in the hands of the disciples: at most five loaves and two fishes - nothing for five thousand men. And yet the disciples should respond and not send anyone back. The miracle begins here, precisely from our weakness placed with trust into the hands of the Lord. It is thus multiplied. Poverty becomes abundance. Miracles, in fact, are often blocked by the greed of individuals and of nations. So many people remain hungry and die, not because food is lacking, but because individuals and nations squander it and destroy it because of their greed. In this Gospel passage, it is clear that the Lord works the miracle, but he does not perform it without the disciples’ help. He has need of our hands, even if they are weak; of our resources, even if modest. If all these are gathered in the hands of the Lord, they become strength and wealth. This, too, is the meaning of the twelve baskets full of the bread and fish left over: to each disciple, to each one of the twelve, is entrusted one of these so that he or she feel the grave and sweet responsibility of distributing that bread which God’s mercy has multiplied in their hands.