Never Enough: Feeding of the 5,000 — Eighth Sunday of Matthew

On the 8th Sunday of Matthew and 8th Sunday after Pentecost, Fr. Matthew Howell preaches about faithfulness to God’s calling to be generous. He explains how five loaves and two fish were not enough to feed the thousands of people who followed Jesus that day. Nevertheless, once everything was gathered by the disciples and offered to the God-man, then the miracle occurred. Fr. Matthew touches on how in our lives we can’t short circuit the process by withholding the meager gifts we have: prayer, time, repentance, money (especially for a building); but that we must offer it to Christ anyway and then ask Him to fill that which is lacking. Along the way, Fr. Matthew quotes lots of scriptures and also subtly drops lyrics from the movie “The Greatest Showman.”

 

Previous Homilies for 8th Sunday after Pentecost and the 8th Sunday of Matthew:

Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-5

Brethren, before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Matthew 14:14-22

At that time, Jesus saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.