Give us this day what we need for this day ~reflex on Matt. 14:13-21

As the Israelites were wandering in the desert without a way to raise their own food (and complaining incessantly about missing the food of Egypt, when they were slaves!), God provides miraculous “manna” to eat. They could not provide for themselves or be self-sufficient; they could only depend on God’s Providence.

What they should have learned from this is that God loved them and cared for them; He gave them just what they needed, and only what they needed, as the manna could not be kept overnight (except before the Sabbath - another miracle!). Each day, God gave them what they would need for that day, because He loved them and did not want them to die.  

They were compelled, individually and as a people, to rely on God and each other; God was forming a people who understood how to trust Him and cooperate with one another, and who were now ready for the Promised Land.

This brings us to the crowds in today’s Gospel, who were also learning to trust. They followed Jesus and  were no doubt begging him to heal them and relieve them of their difficulties. Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them, so he cured their sick and taught them. All day.  

The disciples, like Moses, are exasperated and exhausted and tell Jesus he should send them all away for the night. But Jesus is always teaching, and he teaches both the crowds and the disciples something. “Give them some food yourselves,” he says. Who in their right mind would suggest that five loaves and two fish would be enough to feed over 5000 people?! It is barely enough for the disciples to survive on. How will they feed all these people? Impossible.

Jesus wants to teach them that they do not need to provide everything themselves; they can rely on him to provide all they need. Love can do all things; Love reaches down into our insufficiency when we open it up to Him and makes it MORE than sufficient. That day, they learn that if they put the little they have in the Lord’s hands, it becomes more than enough. This is what happens with each of us: if we give the little we have, God multiplies it, makes it fruitful, uses it in service of the Kingdom. None of our goodwill efforts are wasted! No matter how little it seems, whatever we give is received and multiplied.

He is also foreshadowing the institution of the Eucharist, as he takes the bread, looks up to heaven, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to the disciples. In the Eucharist, we are given today all we need and more. We don’t have to be self-sufficient; we need only open our insufficiency to God’s Providence in trust. In the Eucharist, we truly become the Body of Christ. We are not alone anymore. Each day, Jesus gives us what we need for the day, because He loves us and wants us to be fully alive.