Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

In the account of the multiplication of the loaves, John the Evangelist lays the groundwork to the most powerful chapter in all of the Gospels in communicating the truth of the Eucharist—the truth that Jesus is “the living bread that came down from heaven; and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” As we know this teaching was a difficult one for the crowds to accept, and it’s a difficult teaching for many people today. But, in this account of the Multiplication of the Loaves, we are being instructed to believe that with Jesus, a situation is never hopeless. Unique to John’s account is the introduction of three important people in the story: Philip, Andrew, and the boy with the loaves and fish.

Jesus initially singled out Philip, probably because they were near his hometown of Bethsaida, so Philip, being the local boy, might have had some insight as to where to acquire food. Philip’s response is well calculated—he assesses the situation based on the number in the crowd and the approximate cost necessary to feed everyone, and he concludes that it is not possible to feed such a vast crowd. He’s like many of us who have moments where we fail to realize that Jesus can do far more than our human weakness.

The boy provides the material for Jesus to work his miracle—he participates simply by his presence and willingness to share. The boy is available at the right place and at the right time.

It is through Andrew’s cooperation that the miracle actually comes about. Andrew notifies Jesus of the boy who at least has something to eat, even though Andrew thinks that this little amount is not helpful for so many people and the cause is still futile.

In our life we are tested time and time again—tested to trust in God, to give of ourselves, to sacrifice our time and asked to put forth our best effort. What is needed is to act like Andrew: See what you can do, and trust that Jesus can provide the rest. Very often what that means is to be the person who brings others to Christ because you’ll be surprised what God might actually do. Andrew brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, and he also brought the boy who had a measly five barley loaves and two fish. Sometimes we will discover that what we bring to Jesus is rather little—it’s almost embarrassingly so. But, God blesses our efforts, we just have to provide the material for the miracle, and hope in the potential and action of God’s grace.

I realize that this sounds nice, because many of us have experienced how our inviting people to a relationship with Christ doesn’t always to go anywhere: the other kindly rejects the offer or gets annoyed with our persistence. And, we encounter the sad reality is that there are many people who refuse God’s grace, sometimes out of fear or ignorance or indifference, and certainly we include ourselves as those who fail to respond at times. This is precisely why if we want to contribute to the world’s openness to Christ, then we have to start by living it every day ourselves. That means praying regularly so that we can be open to what the Holy Spirit might ask of us. Hopefully Philip, Andrew, and the other disciples learned from their experience in this miracle and the test Jesus gave them. When you abandon yourself to God, and all that you can provide, and this is precisely the pleasing offering that Jesus receives, blesses, and multiplies.

Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB