Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 29 July 2018

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time -

"When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." (Jn 6:12)

I'd forgotten, until I was reminded by a colleague, that there are only two miracles shared by all four Gospels. One is the Resurrection of Jesus - the other is the miracle story of the feeding of the five thousand men plus everybody else with loaves and fishes.

The Resurrection has an obvious meaning for all Christians and is central to the story of salvation, but what of the feeding of the five thousand? It certainly deserves careful consideration.

Perhaps the first comment I would like to share is simply that the normal connection made between this miracle and the daily miracle of the Eucharist isn't one I am going to follow. It may be that we can instinctively link our feeding with the food from heaven to the sharing of food blessed by Jesus with an enormous crowd, but that doesn't strike me as the main point of the story. There is something else, which if we take the trouble to enter into the narrative, might remind us that before we can share the Eucharistic food we need to be able to listen to the words of God and then share charity and love with our neighbour.

Let's look at it this way! There is great subtlety in this miracle story, the details point to an event that remained permanently fixed in the minds of those who followed Jesus. Here he is, tired, and in need of rest from the demands of those following him. Like all of us he desires some space to relax, his escape only lands him back to where he began, surrounded by multitudes of people wanting his help and his teaching!

What does he do? He puts others needs first, there is no surprise, no moaning he simply gets on with the task of dealing with the people surrounding him. He is busy with them then sees their need for food, he asks Philip how much money do they need buy enough food and from his response we can see what an enormous number was involved. The then discover a boy with five barley loaves and two fish, which Jesus then hands out. The feeding part of the story doesn't seem like a miracle at all, everyone has their fill, but there is no surprise, the people eat, the left overs are collected: 'When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."' (Jn 6:12)

That's it, food given food received. So what do I think the miracle is about? Well, I think it is all about the connections made and the sign of the Kingdom given to us! The food isn't special and there is no wine, it is ordinary peasant food. The meal is one given by Jesus in response to basic need, but and here is the difference. This meal is open to everybody present, not just the men who reclined, all are welcomed to this table of the Lord for here all are equal and worthy of the Lord's love. It is the experience that transforms people, nothing we can give or share is wasted, even the small crumbs of comfort are important.

That for me is what it's all about. Before I can truly eat and drink at the table of the Lord, I must ask myself: am I neglecting my sister and my brother in their need? Do I begin to love as the Lord commands me to?

Lectio Divina

Mother Teresa said: "I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I'm supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I'm praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.

Benedict XVI Angelus Talk July 31 2011

In this miraculous sign the incarnation of God and the work of redemption are interwoven. Jesus, in fact, "went ashore" from the boat to meet the men and women (cf. Mt 14:14). St Maximus the Confessor said that the Word of God made himself present for our sake, by taking flesh, derived from us and conformed to us in all things save sin, in order to expose us to his teaching with words and examples suitable for us" (Ambigua 33: PG 91, 1285 C).