(Matthew 14:13-21)

13When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." 16Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. 18"Bring them here to me," he said. 19And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

'Mystics' and Revolutionaries

The gospel passage for this Sunday sees Jesus feeding 5,000 hungry people with five loaves and two fishes (Matthew 14:13-21). Making the world a better place is not something limited to Jesus 2,000 years ago. Helping the poor and hungry and looking after those who are vulnerable or in need is the responsibility of us all. Nouwen (1994) says that, to do this, we need to be 'mystics' and 'revolutionaries'. The 'mystic' is concerned with changing the human heart and the 'revolutionary' is concerned with changing human society. In case you think of yourself as being one or the other, Nouwen also says that every real 'revolutionary' is challenged to be a 'mystic' at heart. 'Mysticism' and 'revolution' are two aspects of the same desire to make the world a better place to live. The whole socio-political world in which we live is geared against change. This should mean that we do not want to try. William Wordsworth talked about being as 'impatient as the Wind'

Jesus is a mystic

• He wanted some time alone and so he withdrew to a quiet place.
• When landed and saw a large crowd he had compassion.
• He looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke the loaves

Jesus is a revolutionary

• He healed their sick
• He gave the crowd food to eat

Every real 'revolutionary' is challenged to be a 'mystic' at heart. changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.'Mysticism' and 'revolution' are two aspects of the same attempt to bring about radical change.

(Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Heart - Nouwen, 1932-1996, was a Dutch Catholic priest and divinity professor who later became a peace and civil rights activist.)

Mystics and Revolutionaries
(Choose the comment that describes you best and mark it out of 5)

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. It is important for you to feel settled and at peace with the world
2. You like to look out for people and see that they are all right.

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. You are fiercely loyal to those who are closest to you
2. You are concerned about the environment, hunger in the developing world and other justice issues

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. Friends come to you for advice and tell you about what is happening to them
2. Friends feel that you are someone that they can rely on to get a job done.

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. You are an introvert and you get energy from your own company -
2. You are an extrovert and get energy from other people's company -

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. You like the verse - I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20)
2. You like the verse - When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'.'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:30-40)

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. If you have a difficult decision to make you prefer to draw back and be on your own in order to think about what to do.
2. If you have a difficult decision to make you would prefer to talk to other people and ask their advice about what to do.

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. You think that religion is a personal thing where people work out what they think. You do not like being told what to do.
2. You tithe money to the church and are happy to help out with jobs and things that need to be done.

WHICH COMMENT DESCRIBES YOU BEST?
1. You like to keep yourself to yourself
2. You like spending time with other people


1. The mystic is concerned with changing the human heart (Jesus satisfied people's spiritual needs)
2. The revolutionary is concerned with changing human society (Jesus met people's physical needs)