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Fr George's Letter

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Written by: Fr George

 

ONLY FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH.  

“The virtues build a new person radiating love to the world.”

(Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) of Aleppo who consecrated our temple.”

 

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  

                                                                                                         (Hebrews 4:15-16)

 

SUNDAY 26^th JULY. Martyr Paraskevi of Rome (2^nd). Hieromartyr Hermolaos & Martyrs Hermippos & Hermocrates at Nicomedia (c 305). St. Jacob Netsvetov, missionary to the Yupik (Alaska 1864).

 

“The five thousand are those who are sick in their five senses, and who are healed by the five loaves. Since the five senses were diseased, there are as many poultices as there are wounds.”

                                                                                     (Blessed Theophylact) 

 

TODAY’S GOSPEL. Matthew  14:14-22. “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.”  

 

Five thousand men plus thousands of women and children seem an enormous number when we think of the population of Palestine at the time. But let us not forget that at times of festivals the Jewish diaspora swelled the numbers substantially. Seeing the vast crowd, Jesus had compassion on them and we are told healed their sick. This would seem amazing enough and could have been the ending of the account. The disciples were aware that the day was coming to a close and asked Jesus out of their own human observations that the folk needed to find food before it got too late and to send them away to buy food. 

The Lord of All had a much simpler and yet, for us, a much more profound solution: “You give them something to eat.”  We can imagine the frustration and perplexity of the disciples who only had five loaves and two fish between them. There was no way that this small amount could fully feed them, let alone a large gathering of people. Telling the people to sit down, Christ blessed and broke the bread, passed it on to His disciples who broke the food and passed it on to the people. The food, by the Lord’s blessing, was miraculously multiplied so that all were fed with twelve baskets of leftovers. 

If we think of the five thousand people who were like us with all our faults and failings, God’s love fed them as He fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna for forty years. There is also the account of the prophet Elijah who, at the bidding of God, in a time of famine, was able to sustain an amount of flour and olive oil in two jars of a widow that fed Elijah, the widow and her son until the rains came and the famine was over. God’s boundless love still feeds His people. In the Divine Liturgy He feeds us and comes to us in the consecrated bread that becomes His Body and consecrated wine that becomes His Blood. A small portion of bread is transformed into many pieces that feeds a large congregation and the remaining blessed bread becomes the Antidoron (meaning ‘instead of the gifts) which is distributed to all. The faithful who are prepared receive His Body and Blood, the rest receive the left over blessed bread. The five thousand plus, received the broken bread and fish, the twelve baskets that were left surely fed others later who were not there at the time.  A foreshadowing of receiving communion or just receiving the antidoron?

                                                                                             Much Love, 

 

                                                                                             Fr. George.