17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 26/7/2015 - Gospel: Jn 6:1-15
Feeding the crowd
Having a party requires lots of preparation. The more people that are invited to the party the more preparation requires. The task is lighter when there are more helpers but the team leader still needs time to think hard about what needs to be done and what would be best for whom. Being with the huge crowd, who had been listening to Jesus for nearly a day, made the disciples wonder where these people would get food since it was getting darker and there were no shops around the corner. They approached Jesus and asked Him to send them away to get food. It was to their surprise Jesus told them to feed the crowd. For them the five loaves and two fish that the little boy had was nothing for the crowd. They didn't know that God's power could feed the crowd from the lunch box of a little boy. Jesus chose the least important person, the weak to demonstrate His power, His strength. Jesus was doing something which was beyond the expectation of everyone, including his own disciples. It was not the disciples who multiplied the loaves but Jesus. It was not by their request to feed the crowd that Jesus made the miracle but because He loves them. Jesus told the disciples to feed the crowd they knew that it was beyond their capacity and yet they obeyed Him. This blind obedience to God is worthwhile to think about when your faith is being challenged because God's work is mysterious and yet with faith we will enjoy and admire with surprise and amaze at awe.
Addressing the five thousand without the aid of a magnify device on the beach where disturbance came from the noise of the waves and strong wind from the sea and yet the message of God's love that Jesus sent came across. The huge crowd all understood and loved Him and that was a miracle in itself.
The feeding of the five thousand from a lunch box of a little boy was a major miracle. It pointed forwards to the future Last Supper that Jesus was having with his disciples and then established what we now call- the Eucharist. With God's power and generosity Jesus multiplied the little to feed the huge crowd. They all ate as much as they could and was a lot left over. The feeding of the crowd serves as a reminder at the Eucharist that the ordinary waffle after the consecration becomes the real Body of Jesus.
Like the little boy, with heartfelt love for Jesus, we offer some of what we could and with God's power and love big things borne from a small thing for others. Stewardship makes us alive through the act of charity in God and what a little we contribute will be significant for others.
Addressing the five thousand without the aid of a magnify device on the beach where disturbance came from the noise of the waves and strong wind from the sea and yet the message of God's love that Jesus sent came across. The huge crowd all understood and loved Him and that was a miracle in itself.
The feeding of the five thousand from a lunch box of a little boy was a major miracle. It pointed forwards to the future Last Supper that Jesus was having with his disciples and then established what we now call- the Eucharist. With God's power and generosity Jesus multiplied the little to feed the huge crowd. They all ate as much as they could and was a lot left over. The feeding of the crowd serves as a reminder at the Eucharist that the ordinary waffle after the consecration becomes the real Body of Jesus.
Like the little boy, with heartfelt love for Jesus, we offer some of what we could and with God's power and love big things borne from a small thing for others. Stewardship makes us alive through the act of charity in God and what a little we contribute will be significant for others.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia