August 2, 2026
I am on vacation this weekend away from Naples but offer these thoughts for those following.
Isaiah 55: 1-3 + Psalm 145 + Romans 8: 35, 37-39 + Matthew 14: 13-21
One of the few stories recorded by all four Evangelists, this event in a deserted place is a treasure for us all. It happens in a lonely place that Jesus and the disciples reached by boat while the crowd made it on foot. It is no wonder they were tired and hungry. It is an act of compassion on a people who are away from home and without food.
The Matthew version we tell today differs a bit from all the others. Here, Jesus has just received word that John the Baptist is dead, and there is every reason to believe that Jesus needs to withdraw and grieve or reflect on what it means for him and his own future.
We are left to understand this event in two ways.
First, it is a lesson for the Church about compassion which must be accepted as obligatory for all who follow Jesus. The Church as an institution has more or less responded to this example not always sufficiently, but consistently. Yet, while there is power in the collective effort of the Church, that institutional effort easily becomes an excuse for doing nothing personally, and that will not do. We really may not say: “Let the Church take care of the hungry.” Notice that Jesus expects his disciples to do something personally. It’s not all up to him.
Second, there is a lesson here as we see this is a eucharistic story. In John’s telling of this story, that element is unmistakable. It is his intention. All the language is there: he blessed, broke, and gave.
We must not miss how the story ends. There is no mention of an amazed crowd as we find with other miracle stories. There is no comment about the fame of Jesus being spread about either. Most likely, this is because by the time this Gospel was put into writing this story had become completely common and known to all often being recited with the church gathered at the Lord’s table. It ought to still speak to us in the same way, and especially to those who are hungry and those who find themselves lonely and in a deserted place.