17th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading: John 6:1-15
1 Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee-or of Tiberias
2 and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick.
3 Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples.
4 If was shortly before the Jewish feast of the Passover.
5 Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, 'Where can we buy some bread far these people to eat?'
6 He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered, 'Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.'
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said,
9 'There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?
10 Jesus said to them, 'Make the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down.
11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted.
12 When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, 'Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.'
13 So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.
14 The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, 'This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.'
15 Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
Meditation
This famous chapter, which presents Jesus as the Bread of Life, starts with the story of the miraculous feeding of the people by Jesus.
Take the story very slowly, watching how it unfolds and stopping at whatever point you find touches you. It can be divided up into sections:
- Verses 1-3: The stage is set. Jesus takes up his position on the other side of the sea, sitting on the hillside with his disciples. He lets the people come to him of their own accord.
- Verses 10-12: The miracle of the feeding.
- Verse 13: The command to pick up the scraps, which has its own deep symbolism.
- Verses 14-15: The confrontation between Jesus and the people
Right through the story you will find yourself identifying either with Jesus or with the people. Jesus is the great leader and teacher; the people are symbolic of ourselves being led to experience grace in a deep way, with the blessing that this implies, and also the wrong responses that we easily fall into.
The dialogue between Jesus and the apostles is also very significant, and you may want to focus on that aspect of the story.
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for leading us to a deeper relationship with you:
- we joined a prayer group or a religious community;
- we gave up a relationship that had been harming us for
many years;
- we returned to confession and Eucharist after a long break.
It was was a journey you led us on, as you led the people in the wilderness.
It began when we were impressed by the signs you gave in curing the sick;
several people we knew had turned to you and found new meaning to their lives.
For a time, we were just following, not sure where we would end up; others worried about how we would satisfy our needs, but you knew exactly what you were going to do.
Then came the great moment of grace: we felt that you had given us all the nourishment we wanted; in fact we had enough to fill countless hampers with the leftovers.
Thank you, Lord.
Lord we pray for parents who see their children following Jesus into new places.
Naturally, they are concerned, worrying about where the children will get bread to eat, how they will make a living, or raise their families, or enjoy their recreation.
But you are letting them feel this concern only to test them;
You know exactly what you are going to do for the children.
Lord, often leaders don't believe in their people.
They think the problem is finding money to buy bread for them, and, of course, there is never enough even to give them a small piece each.
If only they would seek out the little people with five barley loaves and two fish, take the loaves and give thanks and give them out to all who are sitting ready, and then do the same with the fish, giving out as much as is wanted,
they would find that all would have enough and they would even pick up leftover scraps to fill twelve hampers.
'One act is required, and that is all. For this one act pulls everything together and keeps everything in order. This one act is to stand with attention in your heart.'
Theophane the Recluse Lord, we thank you for our parents, teachers, those who have guided us.
They allowed us to come to them of our own free will, like Jesus sitting on the hillside with his disciples.
They tested us, as Jesus tested Philip when he knew exactly what he was going to do; and they waited for us to see the way forward, as Jesus waited for Andrew to point out the little boy with the five barley loaves and the two fish.
Lord, the sign that we receive food as a gift from you is that we pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.
We thank you for those who taught us this deep truth.
'We have no vision, no models or metaphors to live by. Only saints and
mystics live well in a time like this.'
Denys Arcand, Canadian film director
Lord, when people impress us, we see the signs they have given and immediately we say, 'This is the prophet who is to come into the world,' and we want to take them by force and make them king.
But they always escape from our grasp.
If we had experienced you, we would know that you are the only king and we cannot possess you.
'One who knows his own weakness is greater than one who sees the angels. '
Isaac of Nineveh, Syrian monk of the 7th century
Lord, it is so important that we who are in authority or have power over others should develop our inner life; like Jesus, we should know how to leave people and go to the other side, and there climb a hillside to be alone with our companions.
Then we will have inner freedom so that when people come to take us by force and make us what we cannot be we will be able to escape back to the hills by ourselves.
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