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Last week we heard about the
return of the apostles from their first missionary journey. They were
excited and enthusiastic about all that God had accomplished through
them. Jesus wanted to take them away from the crowds by themselves for a
while in order that they might be refreshed and put the whole experience
into perspective, but the crowds kept following them. The story
continues with the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. The Church
takes this
opportunity to leave Mark behind for a few weeks in order to venture
into the sixth chapter of John's gospel in order to consider Jesus the
Bread of Life.
Today's gospel sets the stage
with John's version of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes.
Central to this story is Jesus' compassion for the crowds that followed
him. It is also a story about God's providence at work in our lives.
Lastly, it is a story about how the crowds react to Jesus.
Jesus caught sight of the
crowd and realizing that they would be too weak to journey home without
food, he asked Philip, "Where can we buy bread for them to eat?"
Are you amazed that Jesus had such compassion for the crowds that
followed him? What does he think about you? Does he see your needs and
problems? Perhaps he understands them better than you. Who would
he ask to care for your needs? For whom does he ask you to care?
The gospels do not have much to say about Philip, but this episode tells
us that he knew the cost of things. He knew that there was no way to
feed such a crowd. Philip was a practical man. How about you? Do you
realize the value of things? Do you know what something is worth? Do you
recognize how many of us there are and how little there is to go around?
Andrew appears next on the scene. After a quick survey of the crowd he
presents to Jesus a lad with five barley loaves and a couple of dried
fish. Now Andrew knew better than to think that would feed so many, but
he brought it to Jesus because that was what was available.
Jesus gave thanks (Eucharist) to the Father for His generous love and
passed the loaves and fishes to the crowd. We have no idea how this
miracle was accomplished. Did the loaves and fishes actually multiply
from few to many? Did the sight of Jesus passing out the loaves and
fishes inspire the people to bring forth and share their own provisions?
We simply don't know.
The greatness of the miracle remains-- over five thousand fed on five
loaves and a couple of dried fish. Once the crowd recognized what
had happened they wanted to make Jesus their king. John tells us
that Jesus fled up the mountain alone.
Where do you see yourself in this story? Would you be like Philip, the
hopeless realist? Would you be like Andrew, the eternal optimist? Would
you be like the young lad, woefully aware of the inadequacy of your
gifts? Would you be like Jesus, confident of God's ability to provide
whatever is needed in every situation? Would you be like the crowd,
mostly interested in what God and Jesus can do for you?
The story of the multiplication is John's invitation to consider the
gift of the Eucharist and how we respond to this divine action in our
lives.
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