Thoughts on the Word:
After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”
When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
The reading for this week takes us into the 6th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. The 6th chapter of John is an interesting read - and is better read as a whole chapter, however in following the lectionary we will do it in 5 parts over the coming weeks.
The multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a miracle that serves two purposes. First it demonstrates to us the importance of sharing what we have with those in need - and how our own small offering can be multiplied manifold by God. It is something we often hear said - I am but one person what can I do. Well here in this story we see just one small boy with a basket of loaves and fishes to offer. He gives them over to Jesus, and through a miracle that can only be the work of God incarnate, this small and almost insignificant offering is multiplied and feeds a hungry crowd of 5000 people. Likewise when we give of ourselves, our time and treasures to serve the kingdom of God, they are multiplied manifold. Never doubt the importance giving your time can have in the lives of people, ten minutes of listening to someone is only ten minutes to you - but it can mean a lot more to that person. Giving what you can in the plate at church each week, may be small in the scheme of things, but it contributes to saving the eternal lives of countless people through the work of the church. God can use whatever we can give, no offering is to small to be used by God who is capable of doing the greatest good with the least of what we give.
The second purpose this story serves is to tell us something very important about Jesus. When we read this portion in conjunction with the rest of John 6 we see that the whole discourse is geared to tell us something about Jesus. It begins with today's reading - Jesus asks Phillip where they could buy bread to feed the crowd - Phillip responds as you would expect most people would to such a question - he simply refers to the extravagant cost of such a suggestion. It would cost 6 months wages to feed this many people! His implication is of course that it simply can't be done.
Jesus though wasn't really concerned with how they would feed the crowd - he knew that he could provide for their physical nourishment. What he was hoping to get from Phillip was an answer something akin to 'you are all they need Jesus!'. As we will see over the coming weeks Jesus was wanting people to understand something - that he was and would be the source of all nourishment for humanity. He wanted people to understand that he would provide himself as the life giving bread, the bread that gives eternal life.
As we continue our journey over the coming weeks, I ask that you consider deeply the 6th chapter of John as a whole, as well as in the separate parts we read each week. There is a very special message in this chapter - Jesus is truly the bread of life, he is the source of our hope, our future and our eternity, and he offers himself to us for our spiritual nourishment.
God Bless You!