The Gospel for today recounts one of the miraculous multiplications of loaves for the hungry people. This is recorded multiple times and in various gospels, varying in some details. But each has a spiritual significance that I want to explore here.
I want to take this gospel in two parts. St. Matthew records two events here: the first is that the people gather around Jesus on the side of a mountain, and it is there that He heals them from every manner of sickness. The second is the actual multiplication of the loaves.
At face value, this may seem to be a simple listing of miracles by the Evangelist but in reality, there is an intentional ordering here that is significant for our spiritual lives. The first miracles that are recorded are healings from physical sicknesses:
“At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:29-31
In the context of the Jewish faith, as well as the specific Gospel stories, we can infer that there is a greater healing taking place here. In the Jewish understanding of sin, physical sickness was very much connected to sin. If a person sinned, the effects of the sin could manifest in himself or his progeny as physical ailments. This is why, for example, when encountering the man blind from birth, the apostles ask Jesus who was responsible for the sin that blinded the man.1 This belief is why the vast majority of the time, Christ physically heals someone but also forgives their sin. Their sin is the root cause of the physical ailment.
While not specifically stated, this same mentality can be inferred in this gospel passage. As Christ heals these people, He also forgives their sins and thus cleanses them physically and spiritually. This healing is important for the second part of this gospel: the feeding of the multitude.
“Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish." He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.” Matthew 15:32-37.
Hopefully, the sacramental foreshadowing is not lost on us here. The multiplication of the loaves is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. This miracle, truly done by the power of God-Incarnate, is done in anticipation of the Holy Eucharist. Here, Christ takes a few pieces of bread, breaks the bread, and gives it to the apostles who then hand it out to the crowd and the people are fed. In the same way, through the power of God, the Apostles and their successors take the bread, break it, and it is miraculously changed into the Body of Christ. It is then given to the church, and the people are fed.
Both events, the multiplication of the loaves and the transubstantiation of the bread into the Eucharist, are truly miraculous. One cannot deny one without denying the other. If we want to give some de-mystifying account of one (for example: the true miracle of the multiplication is that they shared…) then we have to deny that true substantial change of the bread into the Eucharist. For if He could not multiply the loaves then He cannot change the substance. The opposite is also true. If He cannot change the substance, then there is no way He could multiply the loaves.
But there is a deeper reality that comes when we see this entire Gospel passage as a whole: the spiritual truth is that we must be cleansed of our spiritual ailments before we can be fed by Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This is the order of things. We must be cleansed of our mortal sin through sacramental confession before we can partake in the Sacrifice of Christ given to us in the Eucharist. Just as the people were cleansed by Him and then fed, so too, must we be.
Our Lord provides both the healing and the food in the sacraments of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas comments on this passage:
“One should notice that this motive is set down after the foregoing things, because the sick cannot eat, since their soul abhorred all manner of meat (Ps 106:18). Therefore, it was necessary that before they should eat, they be healed: so it is also in spiritual matters. Augustine: to the sick palate, bread is punishment, which to the healthy is delightful. And for this reason, the Lord feeds after the healing.”2
Christ invites us to be fed by Him through His miraculous use of bread which has become His flesh for the life of the world.3 But before we approach that wonderous sacrament, we are first invited and required, to be healed by His hand.
Cf. John 9.
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, C. 15, L. 3, 1339.
Cf. John 6:51.
Powerfully said!!!