“GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT YOURSELVES”

No prizes for recognising the headline: these are the words of Jesus to his disciples when they told him about the hunger of the crowds. The “Feeding the multitudes” is recorded in all four Gospels, twice in Mark and Matthew. Apart from his death and resurrection, the Gospels do not give the same attention to any other incident in the life of the Lord. In these days, when the call for Evangelisation gets ever louder, against the background of clergy (mostly) mutterings that “the people need feeding,” the miracle of the loaves and fishes as we like to call it, has much to teach us. Though there may be no prizes for recognising the words, there may well be a very great prize indeed to be gained from recognising just what those words have to say to us today.

People are sometimes disappointed to be told that the four gospels are not history, still less a diary of the doings of Jesus. But though this may rob us of a curiosity element it is hugely to our advantage. We must be eternally grateful that rather than tell us what Jesus did, the Gospel tell us what he is doing now, in our own time and space. Indeed, that is how the Gospels came to be written in the first place. The stories of Jesus’ life and deeds were well known and collections of these stories were already written down. But the Gospel writers passed them on to us because they themselves had come to recognise these same so-called stories coming to life under their very noses. That is why for instance, the language used to describe the feeding of the multitudes reminds us so vividly of the Mass. “Raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples to distribute among the crowds.”

He tells us too, “give them something to eat yourselves”. Here is the basic call to Evanglisation. This is why it is so important that we do not treat the disciples in the story as representing today’s clergy and the crowds representing lay people in the church. We are all the Lord’s disciples, clergy and lay folk alike. The crowds are those around us who do not yet know Christ. These we must feed. Indeed in attempting to feed these others we nourish ourselves. Whenever, whether by instinct or personal preference, we find ourselves less drawn to the issues of Justice and Peace raised elsewhere in this paper, than we are to more obviously religious practises, we should take heed. Without a genuine effort at Evangelisation much that we call spiritual nourishment may be no more than a narcotic.

It is all beautifully put in one of those new (ish) Eucharistic Prayers for special occasions, which happily are being used more and more in our parishes. The words offer us a ground plan and an impetus for taking evangelisation seriously. Here they are:

“Open our eyes to the needs of all;
inspire us with words and deeds
to comfort those who labour and are burdened;
keep our service of others
faithful to the example and command of Christ.
Let your Church be a living witness
to truth and freedom, to justice and peace,
that all people may be lifted up by the hope of a world made new.”