18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

Taking  the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

Mt 14: 13-21

The news of the death of John the Baptist is followed by a ‘withdrawal’. But this withdrawal is followed by a revelation of the power and authority of Jesus. The scene of this revelation is the desert. There Jesus not only healed the sick but fed the people as well.

The miracle recalls two similar OT miracles: the manna in the wilderness (Ex 16); and Elisha feeding a hundred men (2Kgs 4:42ff).

Christians saw in this miracle an anticipation of the Eucharist (26:26ff). John brings this out more clearly in his gospel (Jn 6).

But bread has other meanings. In 15:26 Jesus uses bread as a symbol of salvation. In Is 55:2f it is used as a symbol for life and truth.

At the beginning it was said that the miracle revealed something about Jesus. Matthew presents Jesus as a prophet like Moses. He is the messiah who gives eternal life and who brings new food, the sign of the age to come.

There is evidence that some Jews expected the messiah to repeat the miracle of the Manna. In the first century we find this writing: “And it shall come to pass at that self-same time that the treasury of manna shall again descend from on high, and they will eat it in those years, because these are they who have come to the consummation of time (that is, the messianic age). See also Rev 2:17.

v. 13. When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by him-self…

We find similar a expression in 24:12. Other ‘withdrawals’ of Jesus may be found in 2:14 and 22; 12:15; and 15:21.

‘Eis eremon topon” is literally ‘to a desert place’. It is translated as ‘desert’ or ‘wilderness’. It is interesting to note that it is the same word that is used in Ex 16 which describes the miracle of the manna.

v. 14. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.

The compassion of Jesus is mentioned in three other places: 9:36; 15:32; and 20:34.

In Mark’s gospel (6:34), the compassion of Jesus resulted in him teaching the crowd. Why does Matthew replace that with curing the sick? Because Matthew believes that the crowds do not understand Jesus and therefore, Jesus was unsuccessful in ‘teaching’ them.

v. 15. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."

The disciples suggest this course of action because they doubt the power of Jesus. They have little faith.

v. 19. And he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

In Jewish families, the father said the grace before meals by taking a loaf of bread, thanking God for the gift of food, breaking the loaf, and giving each person present a piece of it to eat.

“Blessed” here means “blessed God”, that is, praised God and thanked him for food. It is not the bread that is blessed.

See Acts 27:35f.

v. 20. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over --twelve wicker baskets full.

‘Were satisfied” (echortasthesan) is the same word used in the Beatitudes of the messianic feast in the kingdom: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (5:6).

The feeding in the desert is the sign of the Kingdom.

About the food left over, see 2 Kgs 4:44.

v. 21. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

“Not counting women and children” is also found at the end of the other feeding story (15:38).

Someone calculated the total number of people the Jesus feed to be from 20,000 – 30,000 people.

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.

Mt 13:44-46

The parables of the hidden treasure and of the fine pearl form a pair. It is possible that originally Jesus related them one after the other and were preserved as is by tradition. Both parables speak of the joy of the disciples.

v. 44. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Hiding valuables in the ground was normal in Palestine especially in times of invasion. If the owner were killed or died before he recovered his property, it would remain until someone found it.

The man who found the treasure must have been poor because he had to sell everything he has to buy the field.

The disciples have also found a treasure because they have found the King who is to reign and they have been adopted as his brothers.The King is hidden at present, and their secret is at present covered up – no one else knows what they know. They are leaving everything to follow him, but without any complaint.

We find Jesus speaking about treasure in heaven in two other places. The message is the same.

The disciples were told in 6:19ff to lay up treasure for themselves in heaven, that is, to look to God for their reward, and not to men. Their treasure is to inherit the earth, and to share God’s rule over it; but it is given to those who are poor and meek (5:3.5).

Later on in the gospel, Jesus will invite the young man to sell all (in so doing, he will have treasure in heaven) and then follow him (19:21).

vv. 45-46. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

The second parable as we have seen forms a pair with the first one. As in other pairs, the characters are contrasted. In the first parable, the main character was a poor man. Here it is a rich merchant. Still he must sell all to have enough money to buy this exceptionally valuable pearl. The first man found the treasure by chance. The second found the pearl after a diligent search. The disciples are to see to it that the claims of the Kingdom are total. Enlightened self-interest dictates a total response.

Pearls were, with gold, the most valuable things in the ancient world and even sometimes more in demand than gold.

In 7:6 pearls were mentioned and as here they stand for the Kingdom of Heaven.

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.

Mt 13:24-30

The explanation for speaking in parables and the explanation of the parable of the Sower are followed by three more parables. These three parables are also spoken to the disciples and the crowds.

The first of these three parables may be called the Parable of the Weeds of the Field. This parable contrasts two kinds of seeds in much the same way that the Parable of the Sower contrasts good soil with unfruitful ground.

As with all the parables, we may ask three questions:

• What does the parable mean at this point in the gospel? It may have the same meaning as found in 12:33ff. It is about the good tree and its good fruit and the bad tree with its bad fruit.

• What did it mean in the life of the Church? The Church’s explanation may be found in 13:36ff. The judgment is coming at the end of this age when the wicked and the righteous will be separated and each will receive his just deserts.

A more restricted interpretation would be: the disciples are the good seed while the scribes, Pharisees and unbelievers are the weeds, sown not by God but by the evil one. As the farmer leaves wheat and weeds together until the harvest, so God will leave the Church and the synagogue side by side in this world until the end of the age.

• What did it mean when Jesus used it? The key is found in vv. 29f. The disciples must wait until God brings this age to an end, and leave the separating of men to him and his angels. See also 1Cor 4:5.

v. 24. He proposed another parable to them. The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

This method of introducing a parable is a translation of an Aramaic expression and it means: “It is the case with the Kingdom of heaven as with a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

vv. 25-26. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.

Weeds is “zizania” in Greek. This type of weed is called “bearded darnel”. In their early stages they so closely resembled the wheat that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. The grain of bearded darnel is slightly poisonous. It causes dizziness and sickness and is narcotic in its effects. Even a small amount has a bitter and unpleasant taste.

v. 27. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'

Jesus has been called the householder, that is the master of the house and his disciples are his servants (or slaves) (10:24f).

vv. 28-29. He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.'

Deliberately sowing weeds in another man’s field is a crime in Roman law and therefore, punishable. In India an enemy is known to make this kind of threat: “I will sow bad seed in your field.”

When the wheat and the darnel produced heads of grain, it was easier to distinguish one from the other. But by this time their roots were so entwined that the darnels could not be weeded out without tearing the wheat out with them.

v. 30. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."

Darnel was dried and used for fuel.

The householder’s words echo the threat of St. John the Baptist (cf. 3:12). In fact, in Greek the words are identical.

15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path…. Some fell on rocky ground…. Some seed fell among thorns….

Mt 13:1-9

Matthew 13:3b to 13:52 constitutes the third section of teaching. It is a collection of parables and their explanation.

This section like the other four has an introduction which describes the setting. The scene is Jesus sitting in a boat on the lake of Galilee. The crowds are standing on the beach and Jesus is speaking to them in parables.

The mention of the crowds is important. They are there in contrast to the disciples. Jesus speaks to the crowds and the disciples in parables. But only the disciples understand him but only upon hearing the explanation of Jesus. These stand for those to whom God has given the ability to know the secrets of the Kingdom. The crowds, on the other hand, are those to whom it has not been given (Mt 13:11).

This passage has a parallel in Mark (4:1ff). But while Mark states that Jesus taught the crowds, Matthew is content to say that he told them many things in parables. This is because the crowds do not understand and therefore, it cannot be said that Jesus “taught” them.

v. 1. On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.

“On that day” links this teaching section with the previous narrative section of Chapters 11 and 12. In that section the present generation of Jews are condemned for having refused to repent. And it is because of this refusal that Jesus speaks to them in parables.

The sea is the Sea of Galilee.


There are seven parables in this chapter. The first parable contrasts the see which never grows and bears fruits with the seed which is fruitful.

The first four verses describe the seed which is wasted on bad ground. One verse describes the seed which is fruitful because it falls on good soil. Nevertheless, the fruitful seed makes up for the waste.

We find the idea of fruitfulness in Mt 3:8 where John commanded the Pharisees to bear fruit. Later on Jesus would say that the test of the tree was its fruit (Mt 12:33ff). In the parable of the sower and the seed, the fruitless ground stands for the Pharisees who have not believed in Jesus. In contrast, the good soul is the disciples who do the Father’s will (Mt 12:50). This is the meaning which the parable has at this point in the gospel.

But because the Pharisees and the disciples themselves are representative figures standing for believers and unbelievers, a wider interpretation will be given in Mt 13:18ff. In those verses what we have is the Church’s application of the parable. It is no longer about faith and unbelief but about the different degrees of faith in the disciples themselves.

Biblical scholars find a third set of interpretation. And it is how Jesus may have understood the parable when he used it. He may have wanted to contrast the wasted seed with the abundance of the final harvest. If this were the case, then Jesus may be saying that although God does not seem to be at work in the world and does not seem to be King, nevertheless, his Kingdom is coming and when that happens, he will make up for all the apparent failures and disappointments that have gone before.

vv. 4-7. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path…. Some fell on rocky ground…. Some seed fell among thorns…. 

In Palestine, sowing preceded plowing. The sower could not tell what ground was like at the time of the sowing, that is, whether there was any depth of earth.

v. 8. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

Grain in Greek is “karpos” which was previously translated as fruit (Mt 3:8ff; 7:16ff; and 12:33).

The quantities “a hundredfold, sixty, thirty” are far higher than even in a good year. Seven and a half was the average. Ten was good. The incredibly high number serve to underline the point of the parable: the immense richness of the Kingdom when it comes (original meaning) and later, the fruitfulness of the disciples.

v. 9. Whoever has ears ought to hear.

The disciples and the readers of the Gospel have been given ears to hear by God (Mt 13:16); they are commanded to use their gift of understanding which comes from the faith that has been given to them by God.