Seventeenth Sunday

Seventeenth Sunday Ordinary
July 30, 2006

"And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said." (II Kings 4). "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs." (Psalm 145). "So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. (John 6: 1-15)

A man brings an offering of barley loaves to the prophet Elisha. He is told to give them to the people instead of to the priests. To his amazement there is enough to feed a large number, with some left over. Jesus has compassion for a large crowd which had followed him and the disciples to a remote place. The crowd was following him hoping for a miracle. They get much more than they could have hoped.

The details are important. Jesus is on a mountain (like Moses on Mt. Sinai) giving a "new" Law. It is "close to the Passover" when the people celebrate their liberation from slavery by eating the sacred meal of unleavened bread. The place is lush with green grass. Food is provided by a boy with some barley loaves and fish which becomes enough for everyone. Jesus "raised his eyes" to see the people he loved. He then gave thanks, blessed and distributed the bread to the people. This is a sacred meal in which God even provides the protein along with the starch. More than the people would have expected.

Twelve baskets of food collected after the meal call to mind the twelve disciples and the tribes of Israel. Even the leftovers from God's generosity is more than enough for his people. There is plenty of divine compassion for everyone, even from small and apparently inadequate beginnings. The people of God are fashioned from the leftovers. How can we not have the same compassion for each other?

Although they probably did not understand it clearly, the people were hungry for more than bread and miracles. My own experience of advancing physical weakness and disintegration is teaching me about which "signs" to pursue. We often spend a great deal of time asking for this or that affliction to be taken away. When they are not removed, we complain bitterly that our prayers were not answered. While we are looking at what has not happened, we may miss what the Spirit is already accomplishing within us. Beyond our physical needs, the Most High has compassion for our spiritual hungers: faith and trust, a forgiving heart, appreciation for the truth and beauty in every human person, peace of mind, respite from emotional and spiritual weariness, a sense of meaning and direction. If we have these gifts, we can manage a great deal of adversity. The permanent miracle is cure of heart, mind and soul. God's abundance is for our spiritual sustenance in the kingdom of heaven. "The hand of the Lord feeds us". It is enough for us.