Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Saturday July 30, 2005


“We Are All Connected”

Technically, the homily is not just an opportunity for the homilist to preach or teach and though it may include a bit of both with some probing and coaxing, it should never be the occasion to harass or cajole. The homily should engage the congregation in a reflection on God’s word and it should enable listeners to make connections between the inspired texts and life experiences—personal, social, economic and spiritual for sure.

The homily should be thought provoking and insightful to the extent that the whole worship experience becomes a ‘we’ rather than a ‘you and me’ experience. Finally, it should be our proximate preparation for the feast, namely, the Eucharistic banquet that will be celebrated momentarily at this table.

I think I have just set my self up for failure with that brief ‘confession’. It’s a tall order at which I will be the first to confess I have more often failed than succeeded.

Though you may not be aware of it, there is a subtle but silent dialogue unfolding as the homilist unpacks his or her wares. It works best when the congregation is as prepared for worship as the homilist. It takes a minimum of three hours to prepare a seven to ten minute homily. (Some of my Protestant bother and sister preachers tell me not three but three times three hours!) Don’t get nervous. I certainly do not expect congregants to spend three hours preparing for Sunday worship though I do believe it is reasonable to expect that worshippers be familiar with the Scriptural texts and disposed in mind and heart for the celebration of Eucharist. The gathering hymn, the call to worship and the penitential rite are not sufficient in themselves to dispose us.

As you listened to the readings just moments ago, what struck you most? Were you as ready to speak up and speak out as our evangelical sisters and brother, you might say that you were struck by the connection between Isaiah’s invitation to the Lord’s metaphorical feast and Matthew’s description of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. And you would be right on target!

Did any of the words or phrases in Matthew’s text ring a bell? “He raised his eyes to heaven, blessed and broke them [the loaves] and gave them to the disciples.” Where else have you heard these words? Indeed, in the Eucharistic narrative just before the words of consecration at Mass.

So already, we have made two important connections. Good for you!

Scripture scholars tell us that Matthew used these precise words when he recorded this story to make it clear that the Eucharistic bread used in the gathering of believers is connected to the bread multiplied during that ‘picnic’ on the shore. In fact, there is a physical connection between the loaves and fish at that picnic and the sacred bread and wine used at this table this morning in which we are all connected.

The story of the loaves and fishes mirrors the action of Jesus not only in the Eucharist but also in the proclamation of the Word of God at the ‘table’ of God’s word. “Not on bread alone do we live but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” [Matt 4:5]

But more important than the physical connection is the spiritual connection.

Our God is interactive and incarnational. To be precise, we believe in a God whose face is visible in creation, whose breath is in the air and whose life can be experienced in the human personality of Jesus who became the living word and the bread of life for our salvation and for the salvation of all humanity.

The sacraments are visible ritual events that dramatize God’s interventions in the past so that we may be transformed by their powerful effects in the present and become what we celebrate for the future – people of the Word and bread blessed and broken for humanity. In other words, we become the very substance of God’s presence as individuals and as a community of faith. This is why we are called ‘the Body of Christ’ blessed and broken for humanity. Through this ritual, we are absorbed into God’s life by the Holy Spirit so that we may live in grace and enable others to breathe in God’s spirit.

At this point you might be asking: “This is all well an good as a theological treatise but how does it connect with our every day experiences?”

It often connects at our family table at home.

I remember with great fondness our long Sunday breakfasts as a family. We usually attended Mass together but in those days children had to sit up in front with the other kids while sister checked attendance.

On the way home we would stop for the newspapers and then to the bakery for rolls and buns and then dad would cook the breakfast while my sister and I read the funnies. Mom was off kitchen duty on Sunday morning because she did Sunday dinner.

It was at that meal that we talked about the sermon, family, school, and then about school, and then about world events and a host of related topics. Sunday breakfast lasted at least an hour or more.

That’s how we maintained a connection with the church table and the table of humanity. That’s where it all came together. That’s where we got in touch with our family history – imperfect though it may have been – and that’s where we kids learned about the lessons of integrity and the importance of contributing to the well-being of society not the least of which is feeding the poor.

The Church connects the words of Isaiah with the story of the loaves and fishes for a reason.

Written by the author for the people in exile whose sustenance was meager, the author extends God’s invitation to “all who thirst” i.e., all will be welcomed to the table to be fed and filled by God.

Henry Sloane Coffin in his commentary on The Book of Isaiah, published in The Interpreter’s Bible, makes this point: “the water, bread, wine and milk to be served at the banquet are symbols for the life with God. They infer its necessity. Life with God is no mere luxury; it is as vital to the believer’s spiritual life as bread and water are to his/her physical life. From the meager makings of bread and water, wine and milk, God would effect a miracle of rebirth and renewal for the displaced tribes of Judah. No fee, no covering charge, no tips necessary. So why waste your money on the frivolous. Everyone is on the guest list.”

The late Henri Nouen among so many other spiritual writers, contemporary and ancient, make the point that there Eucharist is meaningless without the all important connection to everything that gives and nurtures life and with all who hunger for fullness of life, physical and spiritual. (Cf. Eucharist without Walls.)

So come and eat without cost. Be strengthened and refreshed but remember that the Eucharist is not just for our own personal nourishment, but given for all for the salvation of the world.

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