Walking with Jesus: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John  6:1-15

How has my image of God formed? It certainly goes back to my family: learning kindness, consideration, sharing and caring. It also goes back to family prayer and the daily recitation of the Rosary and learning at meals. And it goes back to my Catholic School training and learning about Jesus through the Religious sisters who taught me. Has the image I had as a youth of God changed? Has it been “updated” through the years? Have I expanded my vision of God to realize that He has always loved me since before my existence to this point in my life? Are my eyes continually being opened to the God of surprises: the God of the unlikely, the unexpected, the improbable, the impossible, the incredible, the believable? Do I open myself to believe that God just cares about me and every person of all times at every moment of our lives? How do I open my eyes to this God? Today’s readings explore our Creator and Lover.

The books of Kings contain several stories of the prophet Elijah and his protege Elisha caring for the poor and destitute. Elijah  guarantees that a widow’s jar of flour and oil will not go empty until the drought ends. God’s promise is fulfilled: The drought lasts for a year and the oil and flour remain constant [1 Kings 17:9-16]. Elisha helps a poor widow whose creditor wants to sell her two children. All she has left is a jug of oil. He tells her to get all of her jugs and to borrow those of her neighbors and pour her olive oil into all the jugs … and her little jug fills all the others. She then sells the oil to pay off the creditor and provide sustenance for her family [2 Kings 4:1-7]. God cares for all: those viewed as important and those whom society considers useless.

Today we have a scene where the famine has continued. Many people are gathered around Elisha as one man brings him almost two dozen barley loaves and some harvested grain. Elisha tells his servants to distribute this food and they say there's no way it's enough for everyone. Elisha does not share their doubts. Elisha’s God is the source of life -- not Baal -- and God is a caring God. All of these stories point to the protectiveness of God, especially for the needy. The message is that the prophets are agents of God, for it is through them that God cares for those in need. Do I realize that God uses me to be His hands, eyes and ears to help those in need around me?

Do I see the Eucharistic parallel: Where Jesus sets a table for everyone to eat, no one is left wanting?

Paul writes the Ephesians from prison, emphasizing unity and peace. The church doesn’t exist for itself but has a mission to announce God’s plan for salvation in Christ. All have been created in love and all have a place in heaven to be with Love itself. This is accomplished by being people of love. Today is Parent’s Day, an observance started in 1994 to recognize the role of parents in rearing their children. This works when it is love-centered. Paul shows us the qualities that are needed for successful parenthood: humility, gentleness, patience, and putting up with one another through love. These qualities give us a lesson in what spiritual growth is all about.  How am I doing?

The miracle of the loaves and fishes is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels. It appears twice in Matthew [14:13-21 and 15:32-39], twice in Mark [6:30-44 and 8:1-10], once in Luke [9:10-17], and once in John, today’s gospel. John adds a twist today, where Jesus tests Philip by telling him to buy food for the huge crowd. Philip says Jesus' request is impossible. They have only five barley loaves and two fish. Jesus takes the loaves and fish, blesses them and gives them to the people ... another Eucharist reference. What is the significance of the little boy? It is his generosity that kick-starts this great miracle. The moral of the story is that God can, and will, do magnificent things in our world, but you and I have to give God something to work with: our time, our resources, our concern, our hope for a betterment of the situation presented to us. In the wake of Jesus' miracle, the people want to make Him king so He can alleviate all of their pain and evil. God has created you and me to alleviate these. How am I doing? Where do I need God’s help?

So I reflect on:

• For the next few weeks we will be hearing the Bread of Life discourse and seeing Jesus doing the unexpected. God’s ways obviously are not our ways : How can I be open to the work of the Spirit within me, urging me on to take action on loving and caring for those in need?
• What miracle am I hoping for in my lifetime? What am I prepared to offer to be a part of God’s grand work in this area?
  

Sacred Space 2021 states:

“In today’s Gospel, Jesus performs the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. It is, of course, a symbol of the Eucharist; there are deliberate signals that this is so. This incident is memorable, but it pales in significance when compared to the wonder of the Eucharist. Try to devote some time to seeing the occasion, speaking to the participants, and drawing fruit for yourself and your life.

“The small offering of the young man fed the people. God can make much of what we offer. Our attempts to live in His love and follow Him are nothing without Him. We never know where our efforts to love, to help, and to support others may bear fruit.”