Weekend Mass

Dear Beloved Family of St. Anselm,

In our culture of shifting blame and evading responsibility, the very familiar miracle of the loaves and fishes contains a very personal appeal from the Lord to us: "There is no need to dismiss the crowds, give them some food yourself." The Lord’s appeal applies to us in five stages.

I. THE IMAGE THAT IS EXTOLLED– The text begins with a very sad note of the death of Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, and He wants to go apart for a while, presumably to pray and grieve. Approaching the opposite shore, Jesus sees a large crowd, is moved with pity, and sets about teaching them at great length, and heals the sick. It is too easy for us, in our own grief and personal issues, to retreat, to hide away. But even in our grief and our limits, we are still called to reach out. And that very reaching out often contains our own healing, too. 

II. THE ISSUE THAT IS EVADED – A common human tendency is to avoid or send needy people away. The apostles, noticing a needy crowd, want it to go away before it becomes a problem. We, too, both individually and collectively, may share the philosophy of "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) syndrome. In DESPAIR, the disciples said, "This is a deserted place, and it is already late. Being DISMISSIVE, they wanted Jesus to dismiss the crowd. Being DETACHED, they asked the crowd to go and get food for themselves instead of helping. The issue is evaded, rather than accepted as a shared problem to be solved together.

III. THE INSTRUCTION THAT ENSUES– Jesus is not willing to keep this merely as a problem "they" have; he wants me to do something: give them something to eat yourselves. This is the instruction that ensues when the apostles, or we, try to evade the issue. Jesus wants and expects us to get started on a solution that includes both "them" and us.

IV. THE INSUFFICIENCY THAT IS EXPRESSED – The Lord is not interested in our excuses; he just says, "Let's get started." Observe two things about the five loaves and two fish. First, the loaves and fishes came from among the poor themselves. There are loaves and fishes even among the poor; they have talents and resources to be included in the solution. Secondly, wherever the loaves and fishes come from, they are not nothing, and the Lord expects all of us to be part of the solution. 

V. THE IMMENSITY THAT IS EXPERIENCED– It is too easy to lament this world’s condition, the sad failures of the Church, and, like the apostles, feel overwhelmed. There is an old saying that it is easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth. In the week ahead, let us resolve to light a candle rather than to curse the darkness. Bring your loaves and fishes to Jesus, bring your slippers, and let's get started. It begins with me.

Amen.