MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES: THE MIRACLE OF LOVE: CATHOLIC SUNDAY SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS: 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE B, 2024

MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES: THE MIRACLE OF LOVE

There is a miracle of abundance and superabundance when there is love and sharing with others. This is the central focus of this Sunday's readings, especially the gospel. ?It is God that multiplies, but not out of nothing.

It is what we bring to God in faith and trust that he multiplies into abundance for us all. The love action of sharing our little is the miracle of abundance for many who are lacking.

Hence, faith works out practical good work or action is dead (James 2:14-26). This means that our faith is not only words but actions. This is a summary of the Christian life. It is a living and active faith not based on belief, theologies, and discursions or rites and rituals alone. It is a lifestyle to respond to the lack of the world. What we believe and profess, we must put into concrete and solid action.

The Christian calling is a vocation of love, generosity, sharing, and giving to the less privileged among us. It is a life sensitive to the daring or basic needs of the people. Yes, we proclaim and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also celebrate these mysteries of the gospel.

However, the gospel cannot end with the proclamation, preaching, teaching, or celebrating the mysteries. It must translate to living and concrete actions that transform and save lives. The fullness of the gospel is love-action to help, provide, and care for the needy and less privileged among us. This is the challenge of our time and age. We are to make the gospel meaningful and relevant to many through practical living

OUR THEME

The readings of this Sunday invite and challenge us to translate our beliefs, emotional expressions, and religious feelings into concrete lived actions of faith in practice. That is if we believe in love and express the feelings or emotions of love. Then, we should live out love in concrete action through sharing and sacrificing our time, resources, and talents to help them.

God demonstrated to us that the Christian life is not just theological sounding, preaching, teaching, or ritualistic celebrations. It is more than that. It is a spirituality alive, effective, efficient, and active when practical in concrete corporal and spiritual work of mercy.

The readings tell us as well of a God who cares so deeply for us. A provisional God of abundance who knows our needs and meets us in our various points of lack. An empathetic God who knows that our human quest is not only in spiritual nourishment. It is also in physical and emotional wellbeing.

We are challenged to avail ourselves as instruments of God to bring about the miracle of abundance. That is, the faith to share the little we have, even if it risks our sense of insecurity or against our instinct for self-preservation.

FIRST READING: 2 KINGS 4:42-44

Elisha’s model offers us a life full of hope in God amid challenges. The “man of God” sees things from a completely different perspective, and he invites us to open ourselves to a different perspective. Rather than seeing scarcity all around him, the “man of God” sees a world full of divine abundance.

Hence, Prophet Elisha, a man of God, through the power of God and man provides food for a hundred men. A symbol of the generosity of God through the cooperation of men. The biblical text has so much to teach us in life and our Christian life as well.

In thanksgiving, there are multiplications and superabundance of gifts and the grace of God.

The providence and generosity of God are always through a human medium or media. God never creates or works in a vacuum or out of nothing.

Human trust and faith in God lead to overcoming the fear of insecurity that sometimes leads us to hoard and grab things selfishly.

When we are willing to share, even the little will have. It leads to abundance and multiplication to reach all. The problem of lack in the world is not a result of real lack but greed and selfishness not to share.

When we trust in God and share, it leads is superabundance and plenty to go around. However, selfishness and greed dry us up from the providence of God and lead to a lack of fulfilment in life.

The “man of God” offers us a model of faith. Faith assures us that amid a scarcity of resources, the generosity of God overrides our lack.

The servant is stuck in the problem, while the “man of God” invites God into this problem. In life, do we remain stuck with the difficulties that surround us, or do we call on God to intervene with them?

MY GOD CARES ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS

The action of Elisha in the first reading bears a resemblance to what we see in the gospel of today. Jesus used what was provided to him to feed the multitude of five thousand men besides women and children. It is a prefiguration that tells us of God's providence and generosity.

In Psalm 145, the psalmist invites us to an attitude of trust and confidence in God. When he declares, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs”. He went on to praise God for his kindness and goodness and challenge us to remain faithful, thankful, and hopeful in the Lord always.

SECOND READING: EPHESIANS 4:1-6

THE CHRISTIAN VIRTUES TO LIVE WORTHY CHRISTIAN LIFE

From prison, St. Paul invites us to live a life of peace and harmony in Christ Jesus. The dignity of the Christian life is a life of humility, gentleness, patience, love, the unity that creates a bond of peace through the Spirit of God at work in us. These virtues characterize the Christian life and faith. Therefore, they must be inherent in every Christian.

?Undoubtedly, for Paul, unity, and peace are not just the fruits of the Holy Spirit to us. They are also a mark of living under the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit of God. A Christian lives in peace, harmony, and unity with all: man and nature alike.

UNITY WITH THE TRINITARIAN GOD

This unity and harmony are mystical presents in the Body of Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we all have in common through our Christian life: one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

In summary, the central thought of the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians is that Jesus has brought to a disunited world the way to unity. This way is through which faith must be lived in Christ. It is also the task of the Christian church to proclaim this message of unity to all the world.

The phrase “above all and through all and in all” enshrines the presence of God in all life. It is the Christian belief, according to Paul that, we live in a God-created, God-controlled, God-sustained, God-filled world. The consciousness of this makes us submit to God in every aspect and circumstance of our life.

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND ITS PURPOSE

For Paul, the Christian life has its goal, means, and reason of attaining eternal salvation in Christ Jesus, the author and finisher of our life and faith.

The goal of the Christian life is our calling in Christ Jesus to be part and parcel of his mystical body (Eph. 4:1).

The means of achieving this goal of the Christian life is our life in the Spirit (Eph. 4:2-3).

The reason or rationale for Christian life is our oneness or unity in God through the action of the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus (Eph. 4: 4-6).

It is fundamental to articulate these goals, means, and reason if there must be headways in Christianity. Our ability to love and share ourselves, gifts, talents, or resources with others in communities is based practically on how we form our unity and bond in Christ despite our differences. This is the test of the gospel and the first reading today.

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THE GOSPEL: JOHN 6:1-15

Jesus, the empathetic God, knew the needs of the sheep not only their quest for spiritual food but also physical and emotional needs. He feeds the people with the provisional loaves and fishes of a small generous boy.

There are many interpretations of Jesus' miracle of feeding five thousand men without counting women and children. Some believe it was an actual miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish. Others see it as the prefiguration of the Eucharistic meal: the greatest miracle of all times. Yet, others believed it was a miracle of love.

DIFFERENT SCENES

It is interesting how Jesus changed the traditional way of rabbinic teaching. He would not teach in the temple or synagogue alone. He was flexible in teaching and proclaiming the Word of God or the kingdom of God from common and familiar places to the people. Today, it seems like it was in the context of a picnic, with the people sitting on grace and sharing a sacramental meal.

The gospel of Christ is not only meant to be taught in the context of catechetical or ecclesia environs. Jesus adapting to the signs and challenges of his time taught people at the seashore, mountaintop, and valley plain, as well as in the context of wining and dining with friends, hosts guests, or family.

?It is a clue to us in our age and time. That is, we, too, must know and adapt to the signs of our time. The challenge and the demand of the gospel in the context of media, social media, and the internet, socializing with people, friends, families, or groups. For Jesus, the context of sharing meals or feasting is one of his strongholds to teach profoundly about the kingdom of God.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF FEEDING FIVE THOUSAND MEN

Jesus fed five thousand men besides counting women and children. Here is the possible mathematics of the crowd Jesus fed. Generally, statistics show that wherever a certain number of men gather, the number of women may be twice or thrice that of men. Equally, the number of children is equal to that of or more.

Calculatedly, it then means that if men were five thousand, then women would be ten or fifteen thousand. Likewise, children will be five or ten thousand. It means that Jesus fed rough twenty to twenty-five thousand people.

?DIFFERENT VIEWS TO THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND

SIMPLY MIRACLE OF THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES

It may simply be seen as a miracle in which Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes. This is the literal sense of the story of the feeding of the five thousand by Jesus. However, some may find that hard to conceive of; and some may find it hard to reconcile with the fact that that is just what Jesus refused to do at his temptations (Matt.4:3-4).

If we can believe in the sheer miraculous character of this miracle, then let us continue to do so. But if we are puzzled, there are two other explanations.

THE MIRACLE OF LOVE AND SHARING

The second explanation is lovely. The miracle is called the miracle of love. The preaching and teaching of Jesus made a profound impact on them. That, they were more than willing to share what each person has with their companion.

This is evidential true, given the fact the Jews scarcely embark on a journey without adequate provisions or supplies for the way. Usually on their expedition or pilgrimage, they always have with them. Some crust of bread and water, milk, or wine depends on the buoyance of the individual.

?Probably, the word of Jesus moved them to forgo their instinct for self-preservation selfishly or humanly. Hence, everyone who had something did share it with the others. And in the end, there was enough, and more than enough, for all.

Many biblical scholars believe it may be that this is a miracle in which the presence of Jesus, his words, preaching, teaching, and exemplary life turned a crowd of selfish men and women into a fellowship of sharers. After all, even the stingiest heart cannot resist being generous when he or she is touched or moved by God.

THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE

The third explanation for the feeding of the five thousand men besides women and children is in the context of a sacramental meal. This prefigures the Eucharistic meal of us gathering to use the fruit and work of our human hands to become the blessings of God.

It could be said that it was not an ordinary meal. It was a morsel, like a sacrament, that each person received a piece symbolically. The thrill and wonder of the presence of Jesus and the reality of God turned the sacramental crumb into something that richly nourished their hearts and souls. As happens at every Communion of the altar of the Lord in the Eucharistic meal.

The first reading is from 2Kgs. 4:42-44 and the gospel from John 6:1-15 have the same storylines, themes, and probably messages.

The servant or the apostles saw no way out of the predicament. The servant of Prophet Elisha saw insufficiency and lack. For Andrew and Philip, it was a situation that was hopeless or nothing could be done.

However, Andrew found a lad with five loaves and two fishes and brought him to Jesus. He hoped that Jesus could do something to rescue the situation. Andrew had a firm faith in Jesus to do something. After all, he witnesses the miracle of the wedding at Cana. He may have said to himself: “I’ll see what I can do, and I’ll trust Jesus to do the rest.”

The two principal figures Elisha and Jesus were people close to God who knew his divine providence. They see things through the eyes of faith and trust in God, unlike their servant and apostles who see impossibilities.

Jesus and the man of God are shepherds or leaders who are in touch with their people’s needs and would not be indifferent to them or give silly excuses when they cannot help out.

There was a man from Baal-Shalishah, who brought food from the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain. And there was also a lad with five loaves and two fish in the needy crowd. They both understood human lacks and the need to be generous. Therefore, they were ready and willing to share even the little they had, even though they seemed insignificant.

Jesus and Elisha knew that God’s providence and grace do not work effectively in a vacuum. Grace always builds on nature. God uses what we have or presents him to increase and multiply us with abundance.

God, Elisha, and Jesus are against wastefulness amidst abundance and plenty. We are called to carefully manage and preserve our resources when there is abundance.

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS

?What does the Christian life mean for you? A set of beliefs, theologies, rites, or rituals? Or a practice of concrete action that puts our beliefs and liturgical rites or rituals into the service of others? And sharing with others through ourselves, gifts, talents, and resources?

In life, there are always lacks, problems, and difficulties. Do you see through them with eyes of faith, trust, and confidence in God? Or are you overwhelmed with a sense of desperation and hopelessness?

Do you know God does not work or do miracles in a vacuum but uses our human nature, generosity, availability, and disposition to change the world around us?

Are you aware that when we overcome our human and selfish instinct to self-preservation and share the little we have, there will be multiplication and an abundance of surpluses?

Do you practice charity on a personal level? Do you support charitable groups in society or church?

The tragedy of hunger and starvation in the world is not because there is not enough to go around everyone. It is greed and selfishness driven by the instinct of self-preservation or the jungle struggle for survival of the fittest. Where the faith to share with others is overshadowed by the fear of scarcity that leads to hoarding.

HUNGER AND OUR CONTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD

The biggest lesson for us today is that the Lord needs us to be generous with what we have, even though it can seem small and inadequate in our eyes. The Lord does not work in a vacuum. He needs us to create an opening for him to work through us.

The greatest lesson of the gospel is God cannot work miracles in our lives, situations, or among us if we do not cooperate with his grace by bringing what or who we are to him. It is an illusionary life to think or expect God to work miracles for us out of nothing.

The Lord needs us to be generous with what we have if he must feed the various pangs of hunger of today’s crowd. Whether it is the basic hunger for food, or the hunger for shelter, for a home, for friendship, for the community, for acceptance, or the deep spiritual hunger for God.

OUR PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel does not have only a spiritual dimension but also a social one. That calls us to be caring and loving towards one another. Help us that by partaking in your body and blood in the Eucharistic meal, we may do away with hatred, selfishness, bitterness, division, envy, and all that undermines our Christian calling and unity. Amen

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