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The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

One of the most used literary devices in Scripture is that of allusion: to refer to something indirectly. For example, if I were to say, “Today, I’m feeling free” on the calendar day of July 4th, you would know I was speaking indirectly of Independence Day. Should I say these words to a Nigerian in Africa, the allusion would be completely foreign to my audience.

This is much how the Gospel writers wrote and if we are unfamiliar with Scripture (especially the Old Testament), then we will miss many of the varied, rich underlying meanings of Scripture. This small but important discovery will forever change the way you read or listen to Scripture. All of a sudden, previously known passages explode with fresh meaning!

Take, for instance, our Lord’s words and actions in today’s Gospel narrative. Matthew, in recording the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fish (Ch. 14), employs the richness of allusion to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament not only then but even today in our celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Matthew mentions that Jesus withdrew to a deserted place (v. 13), then places emphasis on this fact when he records the disciples’ words: “This is a deserted place and it is already late” (v. 15). Jesus then fed the five thousand “on the grass” (v. 19) through the ministry of his disciples by miraculously multiplying the five loaves and the two fish to feed the many.

Far from simply recording an odd miracle, Matthew is writing for Christians with a rich Jewish background in and around Jerusalem. These Christians knew the Old Testament well. They were also very familiar with the Mass, since they came together often for the “breaking of the bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

In the Old Testament, God fed the vast crowds of hungry Israelites in the wilderness desert (cf. Exodus 16) by providing the miraculous bread from heaven known as manna. Later, the prophet Elisha would miraculously multiply loaves with some left over to feed the hungry crowds (cf. 2 Kings 4).

Remember Psalm 23? “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures you let me graze.” By including the detail: “on the grass,” St. Matthew hopes you will recall this popular psalm.

With the allusions taken to heart, we see that Jesus is the incarnate God, the Lord Shepherd of Israel, the New Elisha, who feeds his flock, the New Israel, the Church, with the miraculous multiplication of his divine flesh in the Holy Eucharist each and every day in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the wilderness of our earthly lives, we are spiritually hungry. Only in the Eucharist will we truly be fed and filled to the brim.