12 April, 2024 | Friday of the Second Week of Easter

 Acts 5:34-42

Gospel Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.

A large crowd followed him,

because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain,

and there he sat down with his disciples.

The Jewish feast of Passover was near.

When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,

he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"

He said this to test him,

because he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him,

"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough

for each of them to have a little."

One of his disciples,

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,

"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;

but what good are these for so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people recline."

Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.

So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,

and distributed them to those who were reclining,

and also as much of the fish as they wanted.

When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,

"Gather the fragments left over,

so that nothing will be wasted."

So they collected them,

and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments

from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.

When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,

"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."

Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off

to make him king,

he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Reflections:

We have the fascinating episode of the multiplication of five  loaves and two fish. The text is recorded in all the four gospels. The Gospel tells us that a large crowd of about 5000 people followed him because they saw the signs he was doing on the sick. The compassionate and tender heart of Jesus reached out to the huge crowd that came to hear him. He multiplied the meager 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed about 5000 people. The evangelist does not mention the number of women and children present. We may think that we have no talents or extra abilities. But created in the image and likeness of God, we all have the gift of love, the gift of forgiveness, the gift of compassion and the gift of reaching out to the sad and lonely. Let us lay these precious gifts at the feet of the Lord and be assured that they will be multiplied a hundredfold.

Action:

 Today I will reach out to someone in need.