Fr. Louis Birabaluge sx
XVIIth SUNDAY O. T. YEAR B
Today’s Gospel is about Jesus and his disciples’ gesture of giving more than enough bread and fish to the crowd of people. It’s wonderful to see how the miracle comes to be fulfilled. Many as five thousand people could eat from “little”, just from five barley loaves and two fish, says the Gospel (v. 9).
Jesus is with his disciples. He sees the people coming to meet them. Without asking him food, he feels their hunger. Perhaps with too much common sense, “true realism”, Philip points out that they do not have enough money to buy bread. “Even two hundred denarii would not be enough”, he says. Let us imagine how many were these people and how it was quite impossible to feed them if we know that a denarius was a day’s wage for a labourer.
The apostle Andrew indicates that they do have something, even if it seems also insufficient: “There is a small boy here with five loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?”, he says. It is the same reaction we have in the first reading from the prophet Elijah’s servant. When the prophet asks him to give food to the people, he answers: “how can I serve this to hundred men?”
Facing the needs of others, of the “poor” this reaction may be also ours, especially if people in need are many. With much more realism we may say: “what is that between so many?”! But today’s Gospel shows us another way of thinking and doing: the way of love. Where love is, there is always something to share. Furthermore, through love, abundance flourishes from poverty, from a little.
But we give again a little, if we can only give bread. People are not pigs. They need more than bread. In fact, in today’s Gospel, saint John notices: “a large crowd followed him, impressed by signs he gave by curing the sick”. After they have eaten, their reaction was: “This really is the prophet who is to come into the world”. We are asked to feed the hungry. But our gesture is too insufficient and short if we think bread is enough for them. We have also to guide them and help them to be impressed by Jesus, to help them to meet him, because he is our Saviour, the true Bread, the son of God from whom God’s love reaches us. Therefore, our sharing the bread cannot be separated to our mission of sharing together the Word of God, the Gospel.
Pope Francis, whose concern for the poor is well known, has found the prophetic expression of “globalization of indifference” to describe the common modern attitude towards the marginalized and the poor of our societies. One mistakes thinking that the papal warning is addressed only to non Christians or non believers. None of us is prevented from the virus of “indifference”. We have to be aware of this temptation, especially if we are living in difficult social contexts where poverty, in a sense of lack of what is necessary for dignified human living, seems “normal”. Without knowing, we can be “used” to poverty and justify ourselves saying: “There is no issue”. Here in Sierra Leone people express this fatalistic attitude with the krio expression “Aw fo du?” And the answer is often: “na God”, “up to God”, or just: “nothing”!
Something to do is always possible. Sharing form our poverty, inspired by genuine love, this is the new way which Jesus shows us today. Indeed, from five loaves of bread and two fish, the crowd of people could eat as much they wanted. They ate, “sitting down”; whose meaning is: to be treated as free people and with dignity. There was even food left. What means again: more than enough.
But we can reach this level of genuine love if only we follow Jesus. If we allow him to challenge us as he did whit his disciples. Jesus was concerned with the sorrows of people. His compassion was more than mere feelings. He shared his concern for the crowd with his disciples. From this way, the solution was found. Therefore, true compassion, ability to share our concern with others and work with them for the good of all, especially for the good of the marginalized, these are christian virtues to discover. This is a way of leading a life worthy of our vocation. This is how we can bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience (2nd reading).
Let us ask Jesus our Lord, this Sunday, to help us to learn from him how we can share from our poverty. Let us pray using this beautiful prayer from the Funder of “Emmaus” the great French priest Abbé Pierre (Father Peter):
“Lord, give the bread to the hungry, those who really need bread.
Lord, give the hunger of your Word to those who have bread.
And to all, Lord, give both the daily bread and the bread of your Word”.
XVIIth SUNDAY O. T. YEAR B
Today’s Gospel is about Jesus and his disciples’ gesture of giving more than enough bread and fish to the crowd of people. It’s wonderful to see how the miracle comes to be fulfilled. Many as five thousand people could eat from “little”, just from five barley loaves and two fish, says the Gospel (v. 9).
Jesus is with his disciples. He sees the people coming to meet them. Without asking him food, he feels their hunger. Perhaps with too much common sense, “true realism”, Philip points out that they do not have enough money to buy bread. “Even two hundred denarii would not be enough”, he says. Let us imagine how many were these people and how it was quite impossible to feed them if we know that a denarius was a day’s wage for a labourer.
The apostle Andrew indicates that they do have something, even if it seems also insufficient: “There is a small boy here with five loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?”, he says. It is the same reaction we have in the first reading from the prophet Elijah’s servant. When the prophet asks him to give food to the people, he answers: “how can I serve this to hundred men?”
Facing the needs of others, of the “poor” this reaction may be also ours, especially if people in need are many. With much more realism we may say: “what is that between so many?”! But today’s Gospel shows us another way of thinking and doing: the way of love. Where love is, there is always something to share. Furthermore, through love, abundance flourishes from poverty, from a little.
But we give again a little, if we can only give bread. People are not pigs. They need more than bread. In fact, in today’s Gospel, saint John notices: “a large crowd followed him, impressed by signs he gave by curing the sick”. After they have eaten, their reaction was: “This really is the prophet who is to come into the world”. We are asked to feed the hungry. But our gesture is too insufficient and short if we think bread is enough for them. We have also to guide them and help them to be impressed by Jesus, to help them to meet him, because he is our Saviour, the true Bread, the son of God from whom God’s love reaches us. Therefore, our sharing the bread cannot be separated to our mission of sharing together the Word of God, the Gospel.
Pope Francis, whose concern for the poor is well known, has found the prophetic expression of “globalization of indifference” to describe the common modern attitude towards the marginalized and the poor of our societies. One mistakes thinking that the papal warning is addressed only to non Christians or non believers. None of us is prevented from the virus of “indifference”. We have to be aware of this temptation, especially if we are living in difficult social contexts where poverty, in a sense of lack of what is necessary for dignified human living, seems “normal”. Without knowing, we can be “used” to poverty and justify ourselves saying: “There is no issue”. Here in Sierra Leone people express this fatalistic attitude with the krio expression “Aw fo du?” And the answer is often: “na God”, “up to God”, or just: “nothing”!
Something to do is always possible. Sharing form our poverty, inspired by genuine love, this is the new way which Jesus shows us today. Indeed, from five loaves of bread and two fish, the crowd of people could eat as much they wanted. They ate, “sitting down”; whose meaning is: to be treated as free people and with dignity. There was even food left. What means again: more than enough.
But we can reach this level of genuine love if only we follow Jesus. If we allow him to challenge us as he did whit his disciples. Jesus was concerned with the sorrows of people. His compassion was more than mere feelings. He shared his concern for the crowd with his disciples. From this way, the solution was found. Therefore, true compassion, ability to share our concern with others and work with them for the good of all, especially for the good of the marginalized, these are christian virtues to discover. This is a way of leading a life worthy of our vocation. This is how we can bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience (2nd reading).
Let us ask Jesus our Lord, this Sunday, to help us to learn from him how we can share from our poverty. Let us pray using this beautiful prayer from the Funder of “Emmaus” the great French priest Abbé Pierre (Father Peter):
“Lord, give the bread to the hungry, those who really need bread.
Lord, give the hunger of your Word to those who have bread.
And to all, Lord, give both the daily bread and the bread of your Word”.