“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise the fishes as much as they would.”
Prayer is at the heart of the heart of Jesus and therefore prayer is at the heart of the heart of his Church. Prayer is the means of our participation in the Life of God. Prayer is how we commune, communicate, the means of community with God and God’s people. Prayer embodies our trust and loyalty to God. Prayer embodies and manifests our complete dependence upon God, as well as our unwillingness to set out on our own as though we already know what is good for us. We are in the process of being fitted for Heaven – or not. We are what we eat and we are becoming what we practice. Therefore we receive the Body and Blood of Christ with thanksgiving and we practice prayer. We practice prayer privately and publicly –- without ceasing.
Now, there is more to learn from this one passage than we will know till we see Jesus face-to-face. But here I offer to you three self-evident lessons.
First of all, “When Jesus… had given thanks,” that is when Jesus had prayed and made Eucharist, he provided for his disciples more than they could use up. The fact that we reserve a portion of the Eucharist is a reminder that God always gives us more than we can use up. And the fact that Jesus prayed eucharistically, that he gave thanks, at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was not unusual. That is the way he lived, so much so that the phrase, “giving thanks,” was and is universally understood to mean that he prayed. And he prayed without ceasing. The child of God should then imitate Christ and give thanks in all things and before all things, especially before he or she blazes some trail thought to be important or necessary. All of our plans and actions should be laid before Christ in prayer repeatedly and with thanksgiving as we seek his will individually and corporately. As your priests, Fr. Sean, Fr. Dan, Fr. Gene and I pray for you and our bishop and the other clergy of this diocese. Fr. Sean & I pray for this parish, everyday at Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer whether separately or together at the Altar. And at the daily mass Monday through Friday we pray for you and your family by name before the Altar of God. Count on it. And I know you pray for us. And we depend upon your prayers.
One day I will stand before Christ to give an account of my sacerdotal activity in this parish and I will be held accountable for each of you by name as I would account for my own child. That is sobering. But listen, my prayers, our prayers for you will not take the place of your own prayers. My very real accounting in the Last Day of my shepherding this flock and each of you will not take the place of the personal account that you will give to Christ.
Secondly, there will always be that voice, sometime from within the Church itself, that speaks as though God is absent and declares, “but what are they among so many?” From the natural point-of-view 200 denarii could not begin to feed 5000 men plus women and children; and from a purely natural point-of-view, 5 barley loaves would do even less. “But what are they among so many?” There will always be those voices that take account only of the breadth and height of the mountain and declare defeat.
Listen to what Jesus said:
“Truly, I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to yonder,’ and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.”
And again:
“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise the fishes as much as they would.”
This is the third and last point: Christ is not bound to the limitations of nature, nor is he at the beck and call of those who possess clout and power in this world. Our world caters to the powerful who possess social and political influence. Look, a sure short cut to go from being a somebody to being a nobody, in the eyes of this world, is to take Jesus Christ seriously in word and deed. Where were the influential persons that day by the sea of Galilee and all the other days of our Lord’s ministry? Where were the wealthy of Israel who came forth with open handed generosity to feed this mass of people? I can tell you where they were — they were all busy at being a somebody in their own eyes and the eyes of this puny world. It was a little boy, a nobody with no power or influence at all, who offered up all he had — a few loaves and fishes, who Christ used to move the mountain.
I have four words of pastoral advice for the new Church year: First of all, say your prayers and if you have not been saying your prayers start saying your prayers. Secondly, attend the Holy Communion every Sunday and during Advent make time for some private devotion in your life. Number three, don’t base your life on the person who says, “but what are they among so many?” And finally, instead of wasting your time trying to be a somebody, try being a nobody for the Kingdom of God.
“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples…”