July 31, 2005
Commentary by Russell Pregeant |
See also: [2008] [2002] |
Psalm 17:1-7, 15 or 145:8-9, 14-21
Genesis 32:22-31 or Isaiah 55:1-5
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21
Matthew 14:13-21
The section of Matthew comprised by 13:53-16:20 is unified by the question of Jesus’ identity. It begins with the story of Jesus’ rejection in his hometown of Nazareth and ends with Peter’s dramatic acknowledgment of his status as Messiah and Son of God. In between these two brackets, we find stories of varying responses to Jesus. From 13:53 to 14:36 , the question of identity itself is in the foreground, but in 15:1-16:12 the issue of what God requires takes center stage. These are not separate questions, since the question of who Jesus is is inseparable from his presentation of the character of God. To proclaim Jesus as God’s Messiah is not merely to assent to an abstract confessional statement but to embrace a particular understanding of who God is and what God requires of human beings. The section a whole closes with 16:13 -20, which again focuses narrowly on the identity issue.
Matt. 14:31-21, the story of the feeding of the five thousand, relates to the issue of identity in a double way: it demonstrates both Jesus’ miraculous power and his representation of the character of God. Vs. 14 notes Jesus’ compassion for the crowds, and the miraculous feeding itself demonstrates God’s bountiful care for persons, not only for their spiritual needs but also for the necessities of life. The scene also plays into the theme of varying responses, however, since it is one of numerous points in Matthew in which the ambiguity of the disciples’ faith is evident. In the story that that follows (Matt. 14:22 -32), the incomplete character of that faith is symbolized both in the fear of the group as a whole and in Peter’s faltering attempt to walk with Jesus on the water. Thus at 14:31 , as at several other points in the gospel, Jesus applies to the twelve the term “little faith.” This does not happen in the feeding story, but the interchange with Jesus in vss. 15-17 helps set the stage for that judgment. The disciples’ response to Jesus' request, “you (an emphatic form in the Greek) give them something to eat” is to point to the meagerness of supplies.
Warren Carter also finds strong notes of liberation in the story. It clearly resonates with a frequent them in Israelite tradition, “God’s will that hungry people be fed,” and in “Jesus’ deed, God acts faithfully to sustain creation in anticipation of the new creation in which God’s reign is established in full and there is abundant good for all….” (Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading, p. 305). Carter also notes a striking contrast with the banquet of Herod described in 14:6-11: “Whereas Herod and the elite trade in manipulation, immorality, and death, Jesus’ meal includes the crowds, promotes their well-being with healing the sick and supplying adequate food, and anticipates God’s different future, God’s new creation and empire….” (p. 306). And, finally, Carter notes the element of inclusiveness in the final verse: “Women, children, and men benefit from his action” (p. 308).
The theme of God’s desire for abundant life for all resonates with the process notion that God is always luring the world toward the good, which is defined specifically as the welfare of all creatures, who are parts of God’s cosmic whole. The emphatic use of “you” in vs. 16, moreover, is consonant with the process understanding of the cooperative nature of the divine-human relationship. It is God’s initiating action—the divine encouragement of new possibilities of just relationships and orders of society—that is always the initiating action. Process preachers should not think in terms of “building” God’s Rule, as early liberal theology did. And yet the advent of peace, justice, and a sustainable relationship to the earth does not come by God’s unilateral action either. We do not “build” God’s Rule, but we can cooperate with God in fostering its impingement upon the world as it is. Similarly, the image of the disciples’ faltering faith is something process thinkers can work with creatively. There are many times when we do in fact feel helpless in the face of gross injustices in society and the intransigence of those in power with respect to environmental degradation. And yet the belief that God does in fact care about the world and is ever active in it can be an important source of empowerment if we will accept the challenge: “You….”
Isaiah
55:1-5
The Isaiah text resonates with the reading from Matthew in its use of language of food and drink and in its image of the abundant life that God promises. In particular, the invitation to those who have no money to buy and eat provides a link that can help bring out the implications of the Matthew text regarding justice issues. Also, the universalism of vs. 5 provides good support for the notion of the inclusiveness of God’s care.
Russell Pregeant is Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Emeritus, at Curry College, Milton Massachusetts and has served for over a decade as Visiting Professor in New Testament at Andover Newton Theological School. Among his publications are the volume on Matthew: in the Chalice Commentaries for Today series, and Engaging the New Testament: An Interdisciplinary Introduction. A native of Louisiana, he enjoys cooking spicy Cajun and Creole dishes.
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