The “Feeding of the Five Thousand” and a similar gospel story
(where 4,000 are fed) have always been among my favorites.
Fun fact: today’s gospel is
the only miracle, other than the resurrection to be recounted in all four
gospels. Take a minute to read the
entire passage on page 184. There will be a test.
Reading this story made me think about the Church. To be more
precise and honest, it has led me down rabbit hole of blog posts and articles. These range from constructive criticism to
hate-fueled attacks. When I finally pulled myself up and out, I realized
my first thought may have been best.
Today’s gospel is a major
reason why I remain in the church.*
What do you remember
about today’s gospel? How many loaves and fishes? Who prompts Jesus
to feed the people? Why? Why am I being asked these questions? Here are my answers:
1.
I sometimes “remember”
things that are not part of the story. For example: In today’s gospel Jesus does not obtain the
loaves and fishes from a little boy. That
is part of John’s account. John 6:9
2.
Five loaves and two
fish. The fact that the loaves are made from barley also come from John’s
account.
3.
Who: The
Disciples. Why: because “the day was drawing to a close”.
4.
I ask these questions because critical pieces
of information to understanding and applying the gospels are often hidden in
plain sight.
One such piece of information inspires me and compels me to stay
in a flawed and broken church.
It comes at the beginning of today’s gospel and can easily be
taken for granted. Here it is: “Jesus spoke to the crowd about the kingdom
of God”.
Among the crowd are the disciples. These men have been so
moved by Jesus, they have left everything to follow Him. The disciples have
had front row seats to Jesus’ miracles. Not just “meet and greet” tickets
– the disciples have Full-Access Passes. I can picture them moving
through the crowd. A murmur arises
followed by Peter’s voice, “It’s OK, Andrew and James are with the band”.
OK, I’ll get back on
point.
It’s been a great day of preaching and healing the sick.
What happens next? More specifically,
what do the disciples say to Jesus? Jesus, it is late and the people are getting
hungry. Come on Jesus, we’ve got nothing left. Let’s pack it in.
It’s just then that Jesus tells them something very important
about the kingdom of God. No, Jesus
shows them. No!!!! Jesus
proves to them…. Your (our) human
shortcomings do not place limits on the abundant goodness of God’s Kingdom.
Wow! There it is.
I suspect I’ll be writing more
about this in coming weeks, but let me offer one more thought for you to
consider. You and I are all the people
in today’s story. We are Jesus’ disciples. We are the people in the crowd. We are Christ’s voice, hands and feet called
to proclaiming the Kingdom, heal the sick and feed the hungry. I selected today’s gathering/processional
hymn (“In This Place” #308) with this in mind.
Blest to be in ministry in this wonderful piece of God’s
Church,
Bruce
PS
Here is an older but excellent video from Bishop Robert Barron titled "Why Catholics are Leaving the Church".
PPS
Over the
past month our social concerns ministry has planted flags on the church lawn,
hosted hospitality hours after mass and cooked and served at the Nutley/Belleville
Care Kitchen. Join us. Send me an e-mail b.mauro1@yahoo.com.
Don’t wait. Do it now. J
* It is also why being “spiritual” or
“worshiping in my own way” is not enough for me, but that’s a topic for another
time.
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