June 22: Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

We can work wonders

Gn 14:18-20; Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11b-17

Work any miracles lately? Seriously. On the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, when we reflect on the awesome mystery that the bread and the wine at our liturgies truly become the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood, we should also be attentive to the extraordinary confidence he places in our own ability to work wonders.

We often refer to the miracle Jesus performs in today’s Gospel passage as the “multiplication of the loaves and fishes.” But it’s interesting to note that the word “multiply” never appears in Luke’s text. What Luke does tell us is that “all ate and were satisfied” (Lk 9:17). We really ought to call this miracle the “satisfaction of the crowd.”

This point illustrates an important principle that we should keep in mind whenever considering any of Jesus’ miracles: Pay attention to the “how” of the event, as much as to the “what.”

It’s so easy to fixate on the amazing altering of the laws of nature (limbs suddenly heal, sight is restored, storms are calmed) that we can easily overlook the underlying intention behind Jesus’ actions. That intention is often revealed by a careful look at how the miraculous scene plays out.

At the opening of the Gospel passage, Luke tells us that Jesus is speaking to the crowds about the kingdom of God (Lk 9:11). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom is not a place to be located “here or there,” but rather that it is among us now (cf. Lk 17:21). Hence, whatever transpires in the following scene, it ought to be understood as part of how our real world is meant to be, not some far-off ideal to be hoped for in the future.

The Twelve Apostles note with compassion the crowd’s need for food and shelter. But faced with such overwhelming demand, they feel helpless and immediately appeal to Jesus to handle the situation. There is good reason for doing so; they have already witnessed Jesus raising a boy from the dead (7:11-15), calming a storm at sea (8:22-25) and healing a woman afflicted with a terrible hemorrhage (8:43-48). Surely he can do something to help the hungry crowds.

At this moment Jesus does something truly extraordinary, perhaps even more extraordinary than the subsequent feeding of the 5,000. He calmly turns to the apostles and with supreme confidence tells them to feed the crowds themselves. There is no indication that he says this with a sense of irony or taunting. But he does call on them to do what he himself will ultimately accomplish: satisfy the people’s needs. The apostles cannot even fathom the possibility of doing what Jesus is calling for and they say so plainly.

At this point Jesus steps in and performs the miracle. But I’ve often wondered what exactly did he expect the apostles to do when he told them to give food to the crowds themselves? How could they have brought “satisfaction” to the masses?

He clearly had more faith in their capacity to be of service than they had in themselves. What held them back? Perhaps the enormousness of the problem, or maybe experiences of having failed in the past. In any case, they are unable to see in themselves what Jesus saw.

Think of all the needs that confront you on a daily basis: from family, friends and coworkers, to name but a few. Think also of your own internal needs for healing, perhaps from shame or guilt. Then consider the global needs confronting us (there are more than half a million people in Gaza alone who are literally starving). The temptation is to echo the apostles’ incredulity that they could have anything to offer to assuage the crushing needs for help.

But Jesus looks at us as confidently as he looked at them and tells us that we have more than we realize in our own hands, if we had but the courage to give it away. We hold in our hands nothing less than his body and blood. We hold in our hearts nothing less than his Holy Spirit. You have been fed, now feed others yourself, and help to satisfy their need.