Image: Anyka
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 26 July, 2015.
Gospel John 6:1-15
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
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. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
Reflection
Some well-intentioned writers explain this event by saying that the real miracle lay in the fact that the people, inspired by Jesus’ action, shared with others what provisions they had brought along just for themselves. But this kind of textual ‘tinkering’, to somehow rationalise what happened, doesn’t do justice to the intentions of the writer or what is being said. Consequently the deeper implications of the miracle event get overlooked and we can misunderstand the questions and challenges for us.
The scene is a microcosm of the Reign of God, a moment in time, where all are fed irrespective of who they were, where they were from, whether they believed or not. In the face of seemingly impossible odds – five barley loaves and two fish - God’s hospitality remains indiscriminate, abundant and prodigal.
So what could this particular action of Jesus say to us in the twenty-first century?
We need the kind of biblical faith that goes up against seemingly impossible odds: challenges people’s hearts and souls with regard to excess and inequality and demands a much more enlightened stewardship of the world’s resources. No more so than in the area of food production and distribution. This Gospel story means opening hearts and minds to see that “the problem in feeding the world’s population is not with the productivity of God’s earth. The problem lies with our political lack of will, our economic system biased in favour of the affluent, our militarism, and our tendency to blame the victims of social tragedies like hunger.” http://goo.gl/bS48Ss
As Christians we believe that we are created by God to live in communion with each other and with the rest of creation; to live in a way that ensures the dignity and rights of all.
Are we prepared to hand over our five barley loaves and two fish???
Prayer
Lord, give us this day our daily bread, and grant that we who are filled with good things from your open hand, may never close our heart to the hungry, the homeless, and the poor. Teach us that, in order to grow in faith, we need to give out of our want as much as out of our bounty. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
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