Homily: July 30, 2006
When I was a kid growing up, I remember that my mother was pretty strict about us boys finishing our plate. She’d prepare breakfast, make our lunch for school, and make certain that we all had a good dinner that night. And we were expected to eat. I didn’t always like the things my mother prepared, but I learned early on that I had to finish my meal. My mom didn’t like to throw food away. If we didn’t finish, then we couldn’t have dessert. And if we were stubborn about the whole thing, we would just be sent to our rooms. At every meal, if there was food leftover, we could be certain that the same food might appear one or two days later on the table— perhaps in a different form.
Even at school, the good sisters used to tell us that we needed to finish our lunch and not throw food away because there were hungry children in other parts of the world. We were taught to be mindful of the missions and how our simple lunches would have been a banquet for others.
Today, our sense of waste compels us to be more careful with our resources. We recycle paper products, plastics, glass, metals, and more. We conserve water by not watering our gardens on certain days of the week. These are good things and one has to wonder about people who complain about these conservation measures. They may be a little inconvenient but they are good and noble practices.
But, even with our growing awareness of the environment, there is still a lot of waste, especially when it comes to food. For instance, we still love to visit restaurants where the food is piled high. Do you think that people eat all that piled up food? Some do but ask any restaurant owner or server or busboy and they will tell you that they throw away hundreds of pounds of food each day. That’s one of the reasons I don’t like restaurants that brag about the size of their servings. I avoid places that say “all you can eat” or those that create a still-larger burger that you can’t even put your mouth around. Honestly, who needs three patties of meat in a burger?
Even with government food programs, food is wasted. My mother worked to prepare breakfast for school children a few years ago in the school district. After the children ate breakfast, she was required to throw all the leftovers away. She could not distribute them, but they had to be tossed. Such waste!
In the Gospel today, we hear how Jesus and his disciples crossed the sea and came to the shore where a large crowd was waiting for them. People were there to see Jesus, to receive his healing, to hear his words of encouragement and hope. So, he began to teach them. But when he saw that the hour was late and that the people were hungry, he asked his disciples, “where shall we buy bread to feed these people?” Another Gospel tells us that he already knew what he was going to do but was testing his apostles. Andrew said to him, “There is a boy here with a few fish and loaves of bread but what is that for so many?” Clearly, Andrew was a realist. He knew that not even two hundred days wages could purchase enough food to feed some 5000+ people. After receiving that negative assessment of the situation, Jesus decided to act. He had the people recline and taking the few fish and loaves from the little boy, he gave thanks, blessed them and broke them to distribute to the people. From this little portion, all 5000+ had enough to eat. Not only that, but they gathered the leftovers--12 baskets full— so that nothing was wasted.
That miraculous event, recorded in each of the four Gospels, spoke to the early Christian community about the truth of their relationship with Christ. Like the crowd in the Gospel scene, we are gathered with Christ today who speaks to us about the Kingdom of God and teaches us in the Scriptures. It is also in this gathering, as it was then, that Christ will break bread and distribute it among us. The bread we eat and the wine we drink, however, is more than just a meal to satisfy our physical hunger. The food we receive from the hand of God is food for the soul. It is the risen and glorified presence of Jesus who feeds us with his very person. And these small portions of food and drink can go a long, long way. So much so that, once we have been spiritually nourished, we can then go out and share what we have received with others. We are not talking about sharing leftover Eucharist as much as we are talking about sharing what is already growing within us— the presence of Christ. So that, when we go forth from this Church and minister to the poor, the hungry, the sick, the sorrowful, the stranger, etc. we are not just passing out leftovers but we are giving them the real thing— the gift of Christ’s love which we have received here today. We are that spiritual Eucharist which is freely given to all others regardless of their creed, ethnicity, gender, lifestyle or social status. There is enough food to go around and we are the ones responsible for sharing it. We must be careful not to waste it. We waste the spiritual food of God’s love and mercy when we fail to interact with others as we should and when we sidestep our moral responsibilities to build a world of justice, love and peace. Throwing away food on our plate may be a sin of sorts but wasting the food of God’s love is a tragedy that cannot be justified.
Another truth that is revealed in this miracle story is that God’s concern is for the whole people. While we celebrate our individual relationship with the Lord, we have to be careful not to undervalue the communal dimension of God’s care. In other words, God cares for each of us in a unique way and provides what each of us needs to be satisfied. But God is also concerned about the life of the entire human family. In both the first reading and Gospel, the bread was distributed among the entire crowd and everyone ate until they were filled. So, we learn that we are first and foremost members of the crowd and that we find our fulfillment, both spiritually and socially, in relation to that crowd. None of us can claim a relationship with Christ that is isolated from others. We belong to the community and it is in the midst of that community what we are fed. Our gathering together for this Mass supports this view.
Finally, if we are to avoid God’s love being wasted, we are to live, individually and communally in a manner that is generous. We are to live with each other with an eye towards each other’s needs. We are to value interdependence in the Christian community. We are to care for and share with the poorer members of the community. We do this not simply because they are part of the human family but because we are united in faith as brothers and sisters of Christ. We have all been redeemed by God’s love. Therefore, the food we receive here today as a family of faith should be generously shared with others in the form of our ministry and works of love.
In the end, we learn that God’s care for us is abundant— to the point of lavishing so much that we cannot but share that care with others. Perhaps this is God’s plan. We receive more than we can possibly eat. But the point is that we can take those valuable leftovers and share them with a hungry world.