Daily Retreat 07/30/06

2006 Jul 30 SUN: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Kgs 4: 42-44/ Ps 144(145): 10-11. 15-16. 17-18/ Eph 4: 1-6/ Jn 6: 1-15

From today’s readings:  “For thus says the LORD: They shall eat and there shall be some left over....  The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs....  Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience....  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted....”

Chapter Six

John 6 is one of the most crucial chapters in the entire Bible, since it provides us with the best taste of the topic which Jesus Himself saw fit to patiently preach about in savory details exactly one year before His Passion.  So, beginning today, and for the next month, the Sunday Gospel selections will progress through nearly the entire sixth chapter of John.  But for easier digestion, week by week, the chapter is broken down into smaller pieces, so that we can carefully chew on every word, to insure that not even a fragment of the Lord=s loaves goes to waste....

Now, of the many miracles performed by our blessed Lord in His public life, only one of them was recorded in all four Gospels - the multiplication of the loaves, the feeding of the five thousand.  Matthew and Mark even recalled that Jesus not only fed those five thousand, but on another occasion, He again took bread, and gave thanks (that=s what the word Aeucharist@ means, “to give thanks”), and He broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to feed another crowd, four thousand men that time.

So the multiplication of the loaves was, in a real sense, the Lord=s most popular miracle.  And why not?  Doesn=t everyone love a free lunch?  But Jesus didn=t work that or any other miracle to be popular - quite the contrary, for when the well-fed crowd made a move to make Him their bread-king, He withdrew again to the mountain alone.  At this point, John is a bit vague, but Matthew and Mark clearly explain that Jesus even compelled the apostles to embark and get away as well.

So Jesus wasn=t seeking popularity, and He evidently wasn=t too keen about letting His apostles get carried away either by popular opinions.  So why then did Jesus multiply the loaves?  Out of compassion for hungry people?  Yes, of course, but the crowds then, just like the masses today, are hungry, not just for physical food, but for solid spiritual nourishment, and Jesus came to feed all such starving souls, and not just for the moment, but for all time!

And the time then was ripe, for the Jewish feast of Passover was near.  Jesus knew that, a year later, He would celebrate His final Passover with His disciples, and He wanted them then to call to mind, not only this miraculous moment, but also, the marvelous Eucharistic teaching that He was preparing to share.

So Jesus multiplied the loaves as a sign, as a sign to lead people to have faith, complete faith in Him.  But isn’t it interesting, that at the same time Jesus offers signs and reasons for faith in Him, He also shows His degree of faith in His own followers?  For, after considering the crowd’s hunger, Jesus asks Andrew and the other Apostles to consider the immensity of the problem.  And this Sunday too, Jesus also asks you and me to consider for a moment the immensity of the problem: the worldwide hunger for the Lord’s bread of life!   What are WE going to do about it?  Not “we,” that is, you and I without Jesus, but “WE, ” you and I with Jesus, you and I joined to the Body of Christ! 

For, the Gospel recounts, as soon as one boy came forward in a spirit of self-sacrifice, ready to share with everyone his own lunch of five loaves and two fish, Jesus took action, and performed the great sign.  And at this moment too, when you and I step forward in a spirit of self-sacrifice, ready and eager to share with everyone our Eucharistic faith and all the other blessings we’ve received from God, then Jesus again does His part, multiplying even our smallest efforts in His name, so that all can eat, and there even be some left over!