Genesis 14:18-20 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Luke 9:11-17
The lessons of life are not learnt in classrooms or by going for higher studies.
In fact, the lessons of life are often learnt by simply observing and reflecting on what is going on around us, by what we are encountering and by what we are experiencing.
For example, the lift (or the elevator) tells us that what goes up must come down, and vice versa. That already tells us that life has its ups and downs, and we have to accept that.
Sunrise and sunset tell us that the brightness and happiness of life will fade into the darkness and loneliness, and yet night will also have to give way to the light of day. That’s the cycle of life.
Even a simple room can teach us some lessons of life:
The roof says: Aim high
The fan says: Stay cool
The clock says: Value time
The calendar says: Be up to date
The mirror says: Always observe yourself
The wall says: Don’t bang your head here
The window says: Expand the vision
The floor says: Be down to earth
The bed says: Rest well
And finally, the toilet bowl says: When it is time to let go, just let go …
But often in life, a situation keeps repeating itself until we learn the lesson from it.
Maybe it is because we are slow to learn and quick to forget, that some situations keep repeating.
One such situation is the gospel passage that we have just heard.
The miracle of the multiplication of bread and the feeding of the crowds is a significant event that is recorded in all the four gospels.
That event in all the four gospels has the similar settings. Jesus was teaching the crowds and healing the sick. They were in a lonely place and it was getting late.
The disciples wanted to send the crowds away so that they can find food for themselves as there was not much food around.
There were just five loaves of bread and two fish, which was just enough for Jesus and His disciples but certainly not enough for that crowd of five thousand.
And yet Jesus tells His disciples, “Give them something to eat yourselves.” The disciples tried to protest politely, but behind Jesus’ back, they were probably saying something else.
And here again, Jesus shows that God does not think as man thinks, and with God nothing is impossible.
What is significant and also the lesson that Jesus wanted His disciples to learn is this: Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, raised His eyes to heaven, said the blessing over them, broke it and handed them to His disciples to distribute among the crowd.
And we must catch it there - Jesus said the blessing over the loaves and the fish. In other words, Jesus asked God to pour out His love on the loaves and fish, so that as the food is eaten, God’s love is also experienced.
The miracle is not the loaves and fish multiplying by themselves. It is the blessing of love that multiplied the loaves and fish, because whenever love is given, love is multiplied. And that’s the miracle.
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Body and Blood of Christ, or simply called the Eucharist, is the greatest and deepest mystery of the Church, and at the same time it is also the most difficult to comprehend and understand and to believe.
But that is because it is the mystery of God’s love for us which is certainly beyond our comprehension and understanding.
What happened at the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish happens at every Mass. The bread and wine are blessed and consecrated and it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.
Yes, this happens at every Mass. And as it is said, a situation will keep repeating itself until we learn the lesson from it.
And for those who believe, no explanation is necessary. But for those who do not believe, then no explanation is possible.
In five days’ time, the Church will be celebrating the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. So the feast of Corpus Christi prepares us to encounter the Heart of Christ.
Because the Body of Christ that we receive at Holy Communion is nothing less than the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the most profound blessing of God.
And that’s why in receiving the Body of Christ, which is the Heart of Christ, we must make that act of faith – we must say “Amen.”
In doing so, we are also asking Jesus to make our hearts like His, so that our love may be multiplied to feed the hunger of the world.
That is the lesson that we must keep learning at every Eucharist.