BY JOHN MARTIGNONI
Question: Not too long ago was the Gospel reading of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes [Matthew 14:13-21]. We had a visiting priest that day, and in his homily, he said that the real “miracle” of the story was not some miraculous multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, but that Jesus was able to get the people who did have food, to share it with those who did not. Is that what really happened?
Answer: There is absolutely no reason to believe that anything other than a miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes is what really happened. According to the Church, “The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through His disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of His Eucharist,” (Catechism, #1335).
The Church calls the multiplication of the loaves and fishes a miracle. With all due respect, getting people to share with one another, is not a miracle, unless of course one has a very dim view of human nature. Furthermore, there is not one shred of evidence, either from the text itself, or from any early Christian writings, that even hints that what actually happened was Jesus got people to share, or that this story was in any way intended to convey a message of sharing. This story was so important, that it is one of the few that is mentioned in all four Gospels. It makes no sense that the Gospel writers put as much importance on Jesus getting people to share as they did on His Baptism, on the Eucharist, and on the Crucifixion. What has happened in the last several generations, beginning with some Lutheran theologians in Germany in the 19th century, is that the theological disciplines have been infected with a notion that there really is nothing miraculous in the Bible. The “miracles” of the Old Testament are just the explanations of a superstitious people for events they can’t explain and the “miracles” of the New Testament are simply stories told by the Matthean community or the Johannine community or such to help people better accept the message and teaching of Jesus, but they didn't really happen.
The seeds of this notion eventually were planted in the minds of a number of Catholic theologians as well, and this notion grew throughout the 20th century and came to full fruition in the 60's and 70's. That’s when we really start seeing Catholic theologians pushing ideas like the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was really Jesus getting people to share. Or, that Jesus didn't really walk on water, He was actually walking on a sand bar that apparently no one but He knew about. Or, that Jesus wasn't really resurrected, He was really buried in a shallow grave and His body was eaten by dogs, that’s why no one could find it. And, unfortunately, there was much more where that came from.
Such has been the unfortunate state of way too much of Catholic theology in the last 40 years or so, but the good news is that the tide is starting to turn and that notion of there being nothing of the miraculous in Scripture, which was planted back in the 19th century and saw its full flowering in the 70's, seems to be on its last legs.
 | About John Martignoni John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com. |
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