Scripture Study for

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Understanding the Word

By Br. John R. Barker, OFM

Chapters 40–55 of Isaiah, which emerged out of the late exilic  period, insist that God is bringing an end to the period of judgment  and will restore Israel beyond its former glory. This judgment came  about because of Israel’s persistent refusal to believe that God alone,  and not other gods, could provide all that Israel needed. In other  words, they offered to other gods worship and sacrifice and received  nothing in return. Now they are being offered a chance at real bread,  at true satisfaction. All that is required is trust and fidelity that God,  and God alone, is the source of life for Israel. 

Paul has assured the Romans that they are the recipients of God’s  gracious plan to bring them into conformity with the image of  Christ, fulfilling their destiny to be God’s adopted children and heirs  with Christ to glory. Knowing this, and that “all things work for  good for those who love God,” they have nothing to fear. They have  been baptized in Christ because of God’s own plan, and God will  not allow that plan to go awry. They are secure in Christ and thus  in Christ’s love. Absolutely nothing on earth, not angelic or other  powers, not death itself can separate Christians from God. (Height  and depth, as creatures, may refer to hostile forces associated with  zodiacal signs.) 

When Jesus hears that Herod’s impulsiveness and pride have  led to the death of John the Baptist, his response is to withdraw in solitude. Yet when the crowds pursue him his pity for them  recalls him to ministry. This is, after all, what he has come to do.  The miracle of the fish and loaves reflects the abundance of God’s  care and provision for the people, seen in Israel’s history and often  imagined as a banquet in the eschaton (end of time). God’s abundant  generosity is seen in the fact that they have more left over than they  began with. Scholars note that the word for “fragments” here is the  same as the word used in early Christian sources for the broken  bread in eucharistic celebrations.

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