18th Week in Ordinary Time
07th August 2023 (Monday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Numbers 11:4b-15
In those days: The people of Israel wept and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength has dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, each one at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favour in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse caries a sucking child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favour in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 (R. 2a)
R/. Sing joyfully to God our strength.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 14:13-21
At that time: When Jesus heard [of the death of John the Baptist], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But 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 said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them 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.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Little into abundance!
Guidlines: In life, often the vicissitudes of life or the demand of duties frighten us. We may feel the burdens are too heavy to carry. But do not worry, because God is with us{alertSuccess}
1. Walking in the way of the Lord is not smooth. It is very challenging. There will be moments of hunger and thirst, weakness and fatigue, uncertainty and insecurity, scarcity and insufficiency, discouragement and frustration.
2. All the more, the old inclinations and attachments will be strongly pulling us back. This is exactly what the people of Israel experienced on their way to the promised land. It was happy to be liberated from the slavery of Egypt.
3. But the story does not end there. Inheriting and enjoying the destined land of bliss would not happen smoothly. They had to travel a long journey through the red sea, through the wilderness, desert, etc. where they experienced all that mentioned above.
4. In such moments, they would easily fall back to their old life and habits. They would fondly recollect and weep for that meat, fish, onions, and garlic in Egypt. They would forget all the mighty intervention and benevolence of God.
5. They would find fault with God and His servant Moses. Truly these were the testing times for Moses. He is pressed between the higher demands of fidelity to God, and the all-too-real needs of the people. He feels helpless. That is why, he cries out to God, “I am not able to carry all these people alone, the burden is too heavy for me”.
6. In the gospel of Matthew 14. 13-21, the disciples too experience the same sense of helplessness at the hunger of the people. They feel concerned for the people. But at the same time, they are aware of the inadequacy of their resources. They tell Jesus, “We have only five loaves and two fish”.
7. In our life too, we come across similar situations. Like those people, we may feel fragile and fatigued, lacking and discouraged. Or, like Moses and the disciples, we may feel helpless in the face of adverse situations.
8. In such situations, we need to turn to the Lord. We need to confide in him. We need to entrust the case to him. Surely he will intervene and change the situation for the better.
Practice: We need not feel sad or bad about our littleness. All that is needed is to join our littleness to God’s mightiness. He would intervene, touch and transform our five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand.{alertSuccess}