17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – July 25, 2021 - - John 6: 1-15 – from Msgr. Chris Heller
From the start of today’s Gospel, Jesus KNOWS he’s going to feed the crowds of people. And let’s tell the WHOLE truth: five thousand men also means 5 thousand women, AND 10 thousand children, and THAT equals 20 thousand people to feed. It certainly is BIG. So, let’s reflect for a moment: what’s a FINE Jesus meal look or taste like, anyway? Well, certainly, there’s food; but not just in the quantity. When my mom’s dad had 7 mouths to feed during the Depression years of the 1930s, he sold ice from a truck! In the fresh fruit season, he could only afford maybe 1 or 2pieces of fresh fruit. At the end of the day, he brought them home and cut them up, so that everybody could taste how wonderful it was. That’s how a fine Jesus meal tastes: together and wonderful.
And yes: Jesus started out with VERY small amounts: 5 barley bread loaves and 2 fish. But what ELSE makes a great Jesus meal? It’s the people, and the community of life! I tell you: I learned SO much ABOUT my family by being CONNECTED to them at meal time: it was both a mysterious and a real, down-to-earth process when we “clicked” with others. We learned who the WISDOM people were, who the PRACTICAL joke people were, WHO the best RECIPE MAKERS were, and even who the BEST PICTURE TAKERS were! As we grew, and as we became better communicators, we became more involved, and it became a more enjoyable experience.
And this is where I suggest, from our Gospel today, that the meal that Jesus provided was NOT simply one GREAT meal, but an EXCELLENT MEAL, with MULTIPLE MIRACLES. MULTIPLE MIRACLES? WHAT MULTIPLE MIRACLES? Here’s what I mean: when we were kids, we ALL assumed that ALL the food consumed that day was provided by the young man, then multiplied by Jesus, then distributed to the masses of people. But that would be putting limits on Jesus’ miraculous power, as if multiple miracles could not be happening simultaneously, and we simply can’t do that!
So let’s tell a fuller-version of this miracle story. The people all sat down in groups. Jesus said thanks to God for the food, AKA “grace before meals,” and He began to share it, and everyone took some. The MULTIPLE MIRACLES occurred when the people in attendance were TOUCHED BY THE BLESSING JESUS HAD OFFERED TO GOD: THEY CLEARLY GOT THE MESSAGE! They became givers, in the spirit and the example of Jesus Christ, by ADDING some of their OWN food, the food they’d brought with them for their own sustenance and survival, to the community food that Jesus Himself had multiplied. This addition does not take away anything from the fact that Jesus fed 20,000 people on that miracle day.
Is there any precedent in our own time for this practice of people adding some food of their own food to a meal that is being planned and prepared by another or others already designated in the role(s) of host? Well, of course there is? Let me ask by a show of hands: how many have even been invited to someone’s house for a meal? (Pause). And how many times have you asked, “what can I bring: a dessert, a salad, an appetizer? And what is the effect? It enhances, or stretches, or helps to build up the meal. Effectively, we help to sustain and nourish a real community, which is what Jesus intended to do when he began to speak to this huge and hungering crowd.
All of this is like a prelude to a beautiful piece of music called “The Holy Eucharist,” or like a preface to a wondrous divine gift of grace, called “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” We’ll continue for the next few Sundays to meditate on the wonders of the Holy Eucharist; the bulletin is including seven weeks of reflection in total. May we also continue to grow stronger in faith, knowing that what we receive is truly the Body and Blood of Christ in its sacramental form. Of all the life forms on earth, we are blessed to be able to receive the Lord into our very selves. For it is especially in those moments that we are called to shine forth as vessels of Christ’s divine presence. – With love, Msgr. Chris
