(Mt. 14, 14 – 22)
Sermon of fr. Myroslav Dumych
«He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed and broken them and gave the loaves to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the people »
(Mt. 14, ).
“Give us this day our daily bread”
(Mt. 6, 11)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters! Today is the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, when we read about the feeding of the 5000. We hear of a great miracle in the feeding of the 5000. This miracle is given up to 6 times in the gospels: twice in Мt. 14, 14-21; 15, 32-39 and Мk. 6, 30-44; 8, 1-10;and once in Lk. 9, 10-17 and in Jn. 6, 1-13.
Bread was the nourishment for the people of the Old and New Testaments. Bread is always a diary to sustain life. Bread is the fruit of the earth and the labor of human hands. Every life needs its own bread: the earthly life-bread grown on the earth, the divine life of the soul-bread from above.
The issue of bread is a very important for humanity. Every day, in prayer “Our Father”, we ask for our daily bread. In the Lord’s Prayer, the word “bread” has both a material and a spiritual meaning.
1. By “bread” we mean first of all food sufficient to maintain life and the strength to perform our tasks. Bread is a universal, fundamental food. Most people have bread as a part of their daily diet. Bread often makes the difference between life and death, between health and sickness, between strength and starvation. In fact, bread is a synonym for food in many phrases and expressions, like “breaking bread together”, which means eating together.
In USA, for the most part, have no idea what it means to be crying for bread, just bread. You may have run out of bread at home sometime, when you forgot to buy or order some, but to have none in the house and no means of getting any is an experience few of us have ever had. Yes, there are millions in the world who are in that very plight. Just a crust of bread would satisfy them. But they do not have even that.
Is there not enough bread in the world for people? No! Selfishness is the cause of famine not only in families but also in the world. The more there is in the world of love, the less hunger and want it will have. For love makes no weapons, - only bread. Therefore, we must pray for the increase of love in the world and do our best, and God will always multiply it.
2. Spiritual meaning of “bread”.
It means actual grace, the spiritual strength of the soul. We need this every day.
It means prayer and all it can do for us.
It also means the Word of God.
Above all, “our daily bread” means Holy Communion, the Bread of Angels, the Bread of Life. If you offer this prayer with sincerity, you will receive Holy Communion as often as possible, even every day.
Jesus Came Not to Give Bread but to Be Bread!!!