A Lesson in Eggs

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, August 2nd, 2026:
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

Matthew
14:13-21

When Jesus heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.  But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.  When he went ashore, Jesus saw a great crowd;and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.  

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”  Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”  They replied, “We have nothing here but two loaves and five fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 

Then Jesus ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.  Taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I've had seasons in life where I'm surprisingly good at making excuses.  In fact, just this week my husband pointed this out when I was explaining why I couldn't share something that had been gifted to me.  “So far you’ve listed three excuses why that wouldn’t work,” he observed, “Instead of how it might!” Ouch. Yes I have.

That this Gospel lined up with my turn to write a reflection is another example of God’s perfect timing. Additionally, I've learned that this is the only miraculous story in all four gospels, so it must be very important to God that we engage with it and reflect on how it relates to us.

It's a story of seeing a need, feeling compassion, trusting, obeying, and collaborating with God. The disciples, however, are reluctant to involve themselves in feeding the large crowd who have followed Jesus to this deserted place and offer Jesus a ‘solution’ that’s really dressed up as an excuse: “Send the crowds away so they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”  I can imagine Jesus holding their gaze when he replies, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” This prompts another excuse that there are only five loaves and two fish, but they listen and give it to Jesus who then blesses it through the Father  and the miraculous multiplying the offering in the basket to feed the crowd of 5,000 occurs - with plenty left over!

It’s hard not to hear this story without considering the times I've made excuses before God. One recent encounter involved walking by a woman sitting on the curb outside the ferry terminal. I stopped and gave her some change and had a short chat.  What she really wanted, though, was a carton of eggs from the farmers’ market taking place that day. I quickly gave her a couple of vague excuses: I needed money for the ferry and the next one was leaving very soon. As I walked away, however, I knew that I did have enough money scattered in my bag if I looked and I also had plenty of time to make the ferry. Our God is a God of second chances, and sometimes puts things in our path to make it really obvious that we are to act. On that day the market was outside and about 15 steps away was a table full of fresh eggs. There was not even anyone in line. So I did listen, bought the eggs, brought them back and sheepishly laid them down beside her. “Thank you,” she said, looking up. “Now I can make an omelette.”  

Later on the ferry I thought about how easy God made it to meet my sister’s needs, and how I reacted. I had the means, the time, and the very thing she really wanted a stone’s throw away. I just had to obey and act.  

And later, listening to a podcast I was reminded again with a beautiful phrase that landed deeply:

“Obedience creates the environment where God’s provision flows.”




Patty Viscount 

---