Monday of the
Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Jeremiah 28:1-17; Matthew 14:13-21)
Philosopher Robert Solomon understands grief as a
continuation of love. He sees people in
grief coming to terms with the fact that they will see their loved ones no
more. Seeking seclusion, the grieving
try to understand what the dead meant to them and resolve how they will carry
on without them. Thus, grieving is a process
leading to action. In today’s gospel
Jesus is seen retreating so that he might come to terms with the assassination
of his mentor, John the Baptist.
Jesus became a disciple of John in the desert. After his baptism, Jesus went his own way,
but the two kept in touch. Now Jesus has
to consider his destiny in light of how John, also an immensely popular
prophet, was mistreated. He is not
allowed much time. The crowd searches
him out. He resolves to throw himself on
the mercy of the Father. He will
continue his mission of reconstituting the twelve tribes of Israel. To show his care for them, he supplies enough
bread for all to eat.
The food that Jesus produces is rightly seen as
Eucharistic. We partake of it when we
break bread in Jesus’ name at mass. It
first draws us together in him and then sends us out to others. We continue Jesus’ labor of bringing the
peoples of the world together in one People of God.
