Jesus has pity on the people because they are hungry, so He miraculously feeds them. There are many stages to this event. There is the Eucharistic overtones whereby Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and then gives it to the people. This is precisely what happens at the Eucharist where we eventually feed not on the bread that was offered but the Body and Blood of Christ. The food we receive is not just physical food but the spiritual food that nourishes us for eternal life.
As we reflect on this story, it is important to keep this background in mind as we try to understand its meaning today. I doubt if we are going to see too many loaves of bread and fish multiplied to fill our hunger. However, the Church does encourage us to seek nourishment in the Eucharist every day if possible. This tells us that the spiritual reality we share in the Eucharist is one that captures the essence and heart of our faith. It is not enough to consider the Eucharist a mere ritual as it is more than that. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives and faith. The saints often remind us that there is little more important than celebrating the Eucharist with faith and humility.
There is also the idea that God does provide for His people. There will be times when this is literally true in a physical sense. I have personally seen food multiplied a number of times. We need to learn to trust that God provides for us. The fact that so many do not have food to eat is not because there is not enough food to go around. Rather, it is a result of the unwillingness of people to share their excess with others. The provision is there; it is sin that creates the situation where many go hungry. And so we need to see God’s provision in both a physical and spiritual sense. If we do not receive the physical food that we need, we can still trust that spiritually God is there at all times and there is nothing others can do to deprive us of that food for eternal life.
