Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

The way I look at it, this Sunday’s gospel is the practical implication that followed from last week’s gospel. In last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus “saw the vast crowd and his heart was moved with compassion for them… (Mk 6:34). And then Jesus began to teach them many things. Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of that same theme. Jesus taught till it was late (Mk 6:35). Apparently, people stayed back and listened to Jesus because he was catering to their need for the Divine. But then, just as Jesus was sensitive to the spiritual vacuum in people’s lives, he also became sensitive to their physical hunger. In other words, Jesus’ compassion was not some shallow feeling. It had depth. This was instinctive, genuine, divine compassion. With absolutely no resources at hand Jesus begins to make arrangements to feed the thousands of people gathered there – an arrangement that ends up in the miracle of the multiplication of loaves. The miracle of the multiplication of loaves is the only miracle that occurs in all the four gospels. But only John’s gospel gives a larger theological teaching following the multiplication of loaves – more popularly called the “Bread of Life Discourse.” And so for the next five Sundays, gospels will focus on the Bread of Life Discourse which proposes Jesus as the Bread of Life. It begins, however, with the multiplication of loaves. There are many interpretations of the miracle and I would like to take two interpretations and propose practical implications for each of these interpretations.

If we pair today's first reading with the Gospel reading then together these readings seems to suggest that there indeed was an unexplainable miracle. There is a deep spiritual value to attributing to God all the power, glory, wisdom, compassion and might. For God, all things are possible. However, I do not want to ignore the fact that in the scriptures most miracles are a result of human-divine cooperation. For the Red Sea to part, Moses had to raise his hands over the waters; for Mary to conceive, she has to say “Yes.” For the woman with hemorrhage to heal, she had to touch Jesus’ clothes; Jesus would often say to the people healed, “Your faith has saved you.” In the same way, Jesus’ miracle of the multiplication of loaves resulted from the little boy’s generosity.

Where do we want to see God’s miracle today? Do we want world hunger to disappear? If so, what are we going to offer to God for that miracle to happen? Do we want there to be peace in the world? If so, what are we going to do about it? Do we want people with terminal illnesses to be healed? If so, what kind of prayers are we willing to offer? That is the question – What little can we offer to God? If we offer the little we can God can turn it into the biggest miracle. Let us believe that with our generosity, all things are possible for God.

Every Eucharist is a reenactment of the multiplication of loaves. Just like the little boy, we bring before God a little bread and little wine. May our bread and wine symbolize our generosity. And may the compassion of Jesus transform them for us into “Bread of Life”.

- Fr. Satish Joseph