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<\/a><\/p>\nAnd now, with the parables concluded, Matthew brings us to this moment, and a \u201cvast crowd\u201d of believers whose lives are changed not by a story, but by an event \u2013 a real encounter with Christ that makes the impossible possible.<\/p>\n
Last week, I came across a quote on the Facebook page of another deacon, Deacon Jim Casa, from Mount Holly, New Jersey, and it fit this gospel so perfectly.\u00a0 I asked him if I could steal it for my homily this week, and he very generously said, \u201cGo right ahead.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure where he\u2019d heard it, but I think it fits.<\/p>\n
The quote is about spreading the Good News.\u00a0 And it puts it very simply:<\/p>\n
\u201cEvangelism,\u201d it said \u201cis all about one really hungry person telling another hungry person, \u2018I found the food.\u2019<\/p>\n
Surely, that was true for the more than five thousand people gathered on that hillside in Galilee\u00a0\u00a0 It didn\u2019t rain down on them from heaven, like manna.\u00a0 It came to them very clearly and concretely and for one reason, and for one reason only: because of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
From that moment on, those thousands would be able to say to every hungry person they met, in wonder and joy: \u201cI found the food.\u201d<\/p>\n
And they could point the way to Christ.<\/p>\n
But this dramatic episode is about more than eating \u2013 and it\u2019s about more than just a flashy miracle.<\/p>\n
It is about the transformative power of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And it is about God\u2019s generosity, the generosity we encountered in the parables, made real.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like us to consider three key ideas.<\/p>\n
To begin with: our God is one who heals.<\/strong> The first remarkable event in this passage is mentioned more or less in passing:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In his compassion, his mercy, his love, Christ reaches out to bind our wounds and heal our hurts.\u00a0 He cures those who are sick.\u00a0 He makes us whole.\u00a0 He makes us well.\u00a0 He restores us to what we were meant to be.<\/p>\n Secondly, our God is one who feeds our hungers.<\/strong> And I\u2019m not talking, of course, about just having a ham sandwich.\u00a0 What do we all hunger for? So many of us crave something we can\u2019t really name.\u00a0 Dignity.\u00a0 Peace of mind.\u00a0 Love.\u00a0\u00a0 Things that are so often elusive.\u00a0 Yet, Christ sees to it that we are fed.\u00a0 He gives us what we need.\u00a0 In fact, he gives us more than what we need, from things we might never have expected.\u00a0 From scraps and leftovers, he creates a feast.\u00a0 From nothing, he gives us everything.<\/p>\n And finally, our God is one who cares about every individual \u2013 even the fragments.<\/strong> Nothing, and no one, is wasted.\u00a0 How often have we felt neglected, abandoned, discarded?\u00a0 How often have any of us felt like we were little more than crumbs?\u00a0 But this miracle reminds us: God remembers those who are forgotten.\u00a0\u00a0 Christ picks up those who are cast aside \u2013 the people who fall through the cracks.<\/p>\n Some of you may be familiar with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps: an international group of mostly young people who work full time for justice and peace.\u00a0 It\u2019s a remarkable organization that\u2019s been quietly doing the work of the gospel for nearly 60 years.\u00a0 They work for and with people who are homeless, unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled. More than 250 grassroots organizations across the world count on Jesuit Volunteers.<\/p>\n This year, the JVC is selling tee shirts to raise money, and I ordered one online.\u00a0\u00a0 A slogan on the front sums it all up:<\/p>\n \u201cAll people matter,\u201d it says.\u00a0 \u201cNo one is disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n This gospel reassures us of that.\u00a0 Others may discard us.\u00a0 But God doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n With that as our hope, and the enduring miracle of God\u2019s extravagant generosity uplifting us, we are filled, and we are healed.\u00a0 We can leave this place tonight changed by our own encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n We need to share that: the miracle of God\u2019s grace in our lives.\u00a0 Like those loaves and fishes, it\u2019s something that can\u2019t help but be multiplied.<\/p>\n We need to spread that good news which, in fact, is great<\/em> news.\u00a0 We have come to know the God who heals, the God who cares about the smallest and weakest, and the God who offers us Himself as the Bread of Life.<\/p>\n To all those who hunger, we proclaim this simple message: \u201cI found the food.\u201d<\/p>\n Image: \u201cThe Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes\u201d by James Tissot<\/em><\/p>\n +++ For more on the Jesuit Volunteer Corps<\/a><\/strong>, check out the video below:<\/p>\n
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