John 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 reclines, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also so 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.

Here is my homily for today:

We have in our first reading a story of Elisha, the prophet and miracle worker. Earlier, the prophet had purified bitter water, increased the amount of oil in a jug, and made a poisonous stew edible. All these miracles met the physical needs of the people. Here, too, Elisha is about meeting the physical needs of those presumably gathered to hear his preaching. Elisha is confident that the Lord will meet the physical needs of His people, just as He meets their spiritual needs. His servant, obviously, is not so confident, but Elisha remains so, and orders him to take the gift of the twenty barley loaves and set them before the people to eat. The people eat, and there is bread left over. What is the point of the story? God can take our gifts, as meager as they are, and turn them into more than enough.

In the Gospel According to John, the story of Jesus multiplying the loaves is recorded. This is the fourth sign, or miracle, in the Gospel According to John that reveals who Jesus is: the Messiah and Lord. It is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Here we have Jesus confronted with the same conundrum that confronted Elisha: a large crowd has followed, and they are hungry. It’s interesting to me, and possibly significant to those who recorded these accounts, that it is never said that the people are hungry. It is simply presumed. Perhaps Elisha and Jesus were both those types of people we are often encouraged to be in our workplaces – the kind of people who perceive needs before they become obvious.

In any case, the problem is there. A large group of people, being inspired by “the signs he was performing on the sick,” has followed Jesus, and now Jesus sees that they are hungry. He asks Philip a question to test him. This is marvelous and reveals the intentions of the Gospel writer. Why test Philip? The point is that Jesus sees the problem and is in charge. In the Gospel According to John, Jesus is always in charge, during His ministry, in the garden, at His trial, and even on the cross. Jesus is in charge, so John makes it clear that He asks Philip the question of where food required to feed so many could be purchased, not because Jesus doesn’t know what He’s about to do, but because He is testing Philip. The answer is discouraging. “Two hundred wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” Andrew speaks a word of hope: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” But then he, like Philip, is overwhelmed by the immensity of the challenge: “But what good are these for so many?”

Jesus, like Elisha before Him, is not overwhelmed by the immensity of the challenge. Rather, He takes the gift the boy has, as meager as it is, and turns it into more than enough. Jesus begins by giving thanks. The word used here is eucharistein, from which we get Eucharist, and later in this chapter Jesus will give His Bread of Life discourse, where He will reveal Himself as the Bread of Heaven and promise salvation to those who eat His Body and drink His Blood.

For now, Jesus is concerned for the physical needs of those who follow Him. This is God’s concern, too. Not just our spiritual needs, but our physical needs. Jesus takes the tiny gift the boy offers and makes of it enough, in fact more than enough, so much so that there is food left over to fill twelve baskets. Nothing is to be wasted. Nothing of God’s gifts is ever wasted. The enormity of Jesus gift is clear. He takes the little we offer Him and makes of it more than enough – more than enough to meet our physical and our spiritual needs.

Do not be discouraged if you have only a little to offer the Lord in terms of time, talent, or treasure. Do not be discouraged if you feel your prayers and your penances are too meager. Jesus will take the little you offer and turn it into more than enough.

At this altar today we will offer Him our meager gifts of bread and wine. In the enormity of His mercy and generosity, Jesus will transform them into more than enough – into His very Body and Blood, to feed our spirits and strengthen us in our struggle to be faithful to Him in all things.

Indeed, as the psalmist says: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” Amen!

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.