Skip to main content

They Had As Much As They Wanted




They Had As Much As They Wanted
Jn 6: 1 – 15
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Gospel is about Jesus feeding the five thousand. This story is one of the few stories that is narrated by all four gospel evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, giving it a privileged importance especially in the life of early Christians.

Our reading begins with the evangelist John narrating to us that Jesus crossed the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Notwithstanding this, people kept following him. Then Jesus goes up a mountain and sees this large crowd coming toward him. He then asked Philip: “ Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip must have been surprised by the question. How could Jesus even think of feeding such a large crowd?  In return, Philip replied: “ Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”
But then Andrew, in an attempt to find some solution to the problem, spotted a boy who was carrying five barley loaves and two fish. But somehow, he himself knew that this was of little use as it simply was not enough to feed the crowd. He said: “ But what are they among so many people? “
From this point on, his disciples didn’t know what was in the mind of their Master. But the Gospel tells us that Jesus “knew what he was going to do.” So Jesus tells his disciples to make the people sit down. There was grass in that place. There the crowd that numbered five thousand was made to sit on the grassy meadow.
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, distributed them to those who were seated. Everyone ate and was satisfied. The gospel tells us that they had “as much as they wanted.” It must have been an incredible sight to behold an open outdoor banquet for five thousand. Food overflowed. There was too much in fact, that there were even some leftovers. So Jesus tells his disciples to gather what was left.  To this they gathered twelve baskets of fragments of the five barley loaves.
Feeding five thousand was no mean feat. Soon enough, people realized that they have just witnessed an incredible miracle and thought perhaps that Jesus was the prophet promised to come to this world.  Their attempt to take Jesus by force to make him king was thwarted, as Jesus withdrew once more to the mountain by himself as soon as he knew of their intentions.

Our reading is one story where faith was not required. This is one story where blessing was poured out abundantly and indiscriminately to all, regardless of whether people were good or bad; whether they had faith or not.  This is a story about an overwhelming abundance that came from a small insignificant amount of resource that made all the difference.
            But most important of all, it is our own story too. In life, we really fall short on many things- physically, mentally, financially, morally, spiritually, emotionally. Our inadequacies and limitations can sometimes cripple us in thinking that we really have only so much in life and can't do better. But it is the Lord who takes up our short falls and uses the little that we have to bless us abundantly. 
Just like Andrew who wondered what a few pieces of bread and fish could do, we too at times wonder whether the little that we have could be of use for anything at all. Yet, as we have seen in the story, it is the little that we have that the Lord takes up and blesses to fill us and bestow upon us his abundance.
The Lord wants us to live life abundantly. But we can have such abundance only in him who blesses the little that we have.  He fills what is lacking in us and fills us to the brim.
The indiscriminate blessing that came upon the crowd speaks of the Lord’s generosity to all who come to seek him. Just like the crowd who came in great numbers looking for him, we need only to seek Jesus in order for us to experience an unending feast where we could have our fill, be satisfied and have as much as we want.
Lift up to Jesus the little that you may have; lift up to him whatever feelings of inadequacy, insecurity and limitations you may harbor, knowing that his grace will eventually transform the little that we have into something abundant and beautiful. Amen.



“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. "  - 2 Corinthians 9: 8

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus The Living Bread

Jesus The Living Bread Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Jn 6: 51 – 58 Introduction Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Today, we remember Jesus giving himself as food and drink for the life of the world. The Gospel 51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52  The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53  So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55  for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57  Just as the living Father sent me, and I
3 comments
Read more

God so Loved the World

God so Loved the World Fourth Sunday of Lent Jn 3: 14 – 21 Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel reading is a beautiful passage from the Gospel of John. This gospel passage is actually Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus under cover of darkness and was searching for answers for the things he could not totally understand.   In this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus somehow reveals to Nicodemus his own life mission and the very nature of God himself.   Jesus then begins by bringing up to Nicodemus the story of the bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the desert. This story is narrated in the book of Numbers. In this narrative, the people of Israel while in the desert, began to speak against God and against Moses. As punishment, the Lord sent poisonous serpents among them. Many die that day from being bitten by these serpents.   Then the people begged Moses to ask the Lord to take away the serpents. Moses then pray
2 comments
Read more

Parables of the Kingdom

Parables of the Kingdom 16 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mt 13: 24 – 43 Introduction Today’s reading presents to us three parables. As Jesus said, parables unlock the secrets of the Kingdom that have remained hidden from the world. The Gospel 24  He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25  but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27  And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28  He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29  But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30  Let both of them grow together until the harvest;
2 comments
Read more