28 July, 2024 | Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 2 Kgs 4:42-44, Eph 4:1-6

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.

Reflection:

Jesus, before performing the miracle of multiplication and feeding the hungry people, makes his friends, the apostles,  partners in performing the miracle. 1. He asks Philip about the possibility of getting bread to feed the people. 2. He uses the bread and the fish brought by a little lad for the miracle. 3. He asks the disciples to make the people sit down. 4. He asks the disciples to gather the fragments. These gestures have important significance for us. God even now does work miracles, but he works through human collaboration. He needs generous, hard working, sincere and committed people to carry out his mission of caring for his people. When the boy was willing to place the small pack of meal in the hands of Jesus, the miracle did happen with Jesus’ intervention. God works his miracles when we are generous and willing to surrender to God our time, talents and even insignificant resources. Am I willing to do so?

Activity: 

Can you help multiply another person's talents by helping her or him - financially or with a gesture or word of appreciation.