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Sermon Notes from Sunday, August 3, 2008
Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21
Prayer of the Day:
“They need not go away”
If Jesus had first been born on earth in our own time, what kind of person would he be? What would he be perceived as—a charismatic speaker? A dangerous rebel? A wise scholar or therapist? A traveling salesman? A bag lady? With whom would he spend his time?
The feeding of thousands of people, described in today's gospel, is a stunning episode in Jesus' ministry. Equally stunning, however, is the initial moment when Jesus decides to acknowledge the crowd. He has withdrawn to pray alone and is grieving (see 14:1-11). But those who want his healing have followed him, and when he sees them, he has compassion for them and responds to their needs.
We may find this model of self-giving difficult. Even more difficult would be the instant healing of the sick or the supernatural multiplication of food for the hungry. Yet in our world too, the people are hungry and sick, the hour feels late and at times the place of ministry seems deserted. We might have trouble sensing that Jesus is really among us, especially when we witness great suffering and evil around us.
One of the great mysteries of our faith is the presence of Jesus, God with us, in "the least of these" (Matt. 25:31-40). The savior of the world lived with the poor and died with criminals. Such an image of powerlessness can frighten us, but it is also the source of a power beyond any we can find on earth—a divine power that enables us to do what we could not do before. We can minister with Jesus to Jesus, present in and with the least powerful people. We can take the news of the victim who overcame the world to all who are victims in the world. The suffering will not go away; we must go to them to bring and to find anew the presence of our Lord.
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