18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Is 55:1-3; Ps 145; Rm 8:35,37-39; Mt 14:13-21
[Reflection written for the Church of St Ignatius, Singapore. Can also be found here, better formatted.]
When many of us hear the account of the feeding of the five thousand, we often marvel at the miracle, at the great show of God’s power in the light of human need. That’s definitely part of what this episode is about but I’d like to suggest looking at this from a slightly different point of view. Jesus’s feeding of the multitude is an example of God’s great hospitality, a virtue that we see in myriad forms all over Scripture. We hear how the Israelites were brought out of slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey and how Elijah was provided with food by the widow at Zarephath, who was rewarded for her generosity with flour and oil that would never run out. God’s hospitality is clear and Jesus just made it that much clearer as he welcomed the sick, the lame, the outcast, and everyone who were at the margins of society. His concern for others was a constant during his public ministry, even to the point of welcoming the good thief into paradise while they were hanging on the cross.
Hospitality is all about attentiveness to the needs of others – recognising that everyone, even those whom we are not so familiar with, are also children of God like us and have the same needs as we do. Jesus was deeply moved by the large crowd he met after getting off the boat and stayed with them to heal the sick. That’s the initial movement of hospitality which was the immediate attending to their needs. Then this hospitality got deeper as they came to the later part of the day. Instead of sending them away as his disciples recommended, Jesus saw to their immediate needs of food and rest. That this occurred through miraculous means made this hospitality even greater. Jesus, the Son of God, was attentive to the needs of all those who followed him, to the extent that he did all in his power to ensure that these needs were met. For us, even though we can’t multiply fish and bread as he did, it’s well within our power to be attentive to those around and to render assistance that is necessary.
The other thing about hospitality is that it recognises the vulnerability of the and that at some point or another, we’re all vulnerable. I remember a time several years ago when I was on a walking pilgrimage with a Jesuit companion along the Camino Ignaciano in Spain, feeling quite vulnerable as we were exposed to the elements and the smallest and most insignificant things on the trails. We passed many fruit orchards along the way, looking longingly at the ripe fruit. At one orchard, we heard a friendly voice calling us in and though we spoke no Catalan and he spoke no Italian, he managed to get us to give him a plastic bag which he promptly filled with the plumpest and juiciest pears he could find. We were immensely moved by this act of hospitality and kindness, prompted partly by our tired and bedraggled state that time but also because that farmer saw our vulnerability and sought to give us aid. Just as the crowds put themselves in a vulnerable state in their desire to follow the Lord, we too would find ourselves in similar situations in our faith lives, needing the hospitality of others and being humble and grateful enough to accept it.
Thus, we see that hospitality is something that has to be given and received. There’s a beauty in the reciprocity that emerges from being hospitable and receiving it, recognising that we all have gifts that we’re invited to share with each other. We’ve received all we have from God, and received abundantly as the prophet Isaiah so beautifully reminded us – Come eat and drink without cost, delight in the richness of God’s providence! Our being hospitable and sharing in the gifts that we’ve received is very much like the disciples offering the five loaves and two fishes – they participated in the hospitality of Jesus through their own sharing, allowing Jesus to amplify that small gift to something that’s truly amazing. They couldn’t have fed the crowds themselves but by being generous and sharing the gifts they had, they were able to participate in the power of God to help feed the multitudes.
And so, perhaps this can be a timely reminder to us all, to be attentive to the needs of others, to recognise who are the ones who are vulnerable, and to share what we have with those who are in need. Even though our current situation does not allow physical contact and non-essential movement, I believe it’s still possible for us to reach out, in small ways, to show this hospitality, so that we too can participate in the Lord’s generosity and providence for the world and all those around us.
musings of a brush 