A man born blind is given his sight.
A paralyzed man is told to stand up and he walks.
A person who is deaf and mute is made to hear and speak.
A possessed boy is freed of a demon.
A deceased 12-year-old girl is restored to life.
A sick servant of a Roman centurion is healed at a distance.
The Gospels contain many stories about Jesus miraculously healing certain individuals.
However, when it comes to feeding the hungry, there is no report in the Gospels of Jesus relieving the hunger of just one person at one time. Jesus healed individuals, but Jesus never fed just one hungry individual person. He fed a group.
We see that illustrated in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 9:11b-17). There, Jesus wondrously feeds a crowd of five thousand with just five loaves and two fish. That miraculous feeding is reported in each of the four gospels. Food was not to be eaten alone. Food was to be shared.
This sharing is also seen in the life of Jesus. When Jesus eats, he does not eat alone. He eats with others. For example, he has dinner with Mary and Martha in Bethany. He feasts at the house of Matthew after calling him to be a disciple. He has dinner at the home of Simon the Pharisee. He notices Zacchaeus looking down from a tree and says, “Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” Jesus shares his Last Supper with his disciples.
Even after his Resurrection, Jesus continues to eat with others. The Risen Lord eats baked fish in the presence of his disciples, breaks bread with two of them on the road to Emmaus, and serves breakfast on the beach to seven of his amazed apostles.
Today, the Lord continues to feed people, and he continues to eat and share with them. In fact, he specifically asks us to remember him by sharing food with others. As we hear in Sunday’s Second Reading (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
The Church follows that command of the Lord when Mass is celebrated. We gather as a community of faith to share at the Table of the Lord. There we receive the bread and wine of the Eucharist. In doing so, we not only remember Jesus, but we also become one with him and with one another as we share his life-giving Body and Blood. We become a “holy communion” with him and with our fellow Christians.
During his ministry Jesus fed hungry people and shared meals with those who had a place in his heart. This Sunday, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we rejoice that the Lord continues to do the same today. The Lord invites us to come to him and be fed with the Bread of Life!
© 2022 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski