Readings: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Ps. 145:10-11,15-18, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15
“A boy here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’” (John 6:9-10)
Last Sunday, our readings focused on the excesses of the bad shepherds and God’s judgement on those who failed woefully to care for their flock. Despite his tiredness, Mark told us that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, did not send the crowds away but sat down to feed them by teaching them at length.
Our readings today are, to some extent, a continuation of those of last Sunday, except that this time around, we are reading from the Gospel of John. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, not only displays the qualities of a good leader (caring), but He also teaches us certain important lessons about life: gratitude, positivity, thanksgiving, sharing, management of resources, humility, and the Holy Eucharist.
1. Care, Empathy and Compassion: Shining Qualities of a Good Leader
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, thought first about the people’s needs even before they came to complain to him. He saw the hungry people and knew their longing for a deeper relationship with God was beyond their physical hunger. His ultimate aim was to feed them with his flesh (the Holy Eucharist), and he began by feeding their hungry stomachs.
We see this same quality in Elisha. In today’s First Reading, Elisha ordered a small quantity of food to feed a hundred men. Generosity is the essence of leadership. Show me a man who treats his servants (employees) like garbage, and I will show you a man who can never be a good shepherd. A good leader can feel his people’s pain. He is not selfish and is never removed from his people’s ordinary situation.
2. Stop Complaining; Be Grateful for Little
They say the biggest thief is the ungrateful person. Too often, we only notice our lack, feel overwhelmed by our mountains of problems, never have enough, and wish we had more. We fail to realise there is so much power in the “little” that we ignore. Most of us are like Philip; we are very good at complaining and know how to analyse things well. Do you notice how quickly Philip intelligently calculated the cost of feeding the multitude? Dear friends, there is only an extent to which intelligence can carry you. Mere intelligence without faith keeps you forever stuck in the complaint.
Andrew, unlike Philip, took notice of the little boy with little loaves and little fish. He brought his “little” to Jesus, thinking they meant nothing, not knowing that, in truth, this little was more than enough. What is your little? What do you have? Why do you feel you need more when you already have more than enough? Have you thanked God for your little? Do you realise that what Jesus did with the little loaves and fish was to offer a prayer of thanksgiving first? John says, “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those seated” (John 6:11). Am I only focused on the cup half full? Do I only note my problems? How often and how well do I give thanks? Do I know the miraculous power of thanksgiving? Elkhart Tolle once said, “If the only prayer you said is ‘Thank you,’ it will be enough.”
3. Even Little Can be Broken: The Miracle of Sharing
The miracle of the loaves keeps happening each time the little is broken. It was a miracle in motion. The more they broke apart, the more the loaves increased. The most common lie we tell others and ourselves is, “I don’t have.” We underestimate our little to the point that we begin to believe it is nothing.
Until we break that little, we will never know how much it is. Never assume you are too small or that you can’t do much. Help one person today. Break a little from your little and watch what happens. God never asked you to end poverty in the world today. He only wants you to break a little bread for your neighbour you saw on the street yesterday.
As St. Paul says in today’s second reading, “walk in a manner worthy of your calling,” even if you are the only one standing. Don’t follow the crowd. Like these five loaves and two fish, your little goodness may appear like “nothing,” but it means “everything” to five thousand hungry persons. No one is too poor or too useless in God’s hands.
4. Wastefulness is Sinful
After everyone had eaten, Jesus said: “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:12). This is very instructive; it is not God’s will that anything He gives us should be lost; in other words, wasted, left unused, thrown away, or destroyed. God hates wastefulness. There is a difference between being blessed and being wasteful. For many Nigerians, the definition of wealth is having enough to waste and wasting it. There is so much hunger in our society today. It would be very unlike Christ if we decided to waste food. While some cannot eat three square meals daily, some spend billions just for parties that do not last a few hours.
5. Every Miracle is a Sign; a Pointer to A Greater Reality.
After feeding the multitude, the people were about to make Jesus King. They were expecting that, henceforth, Jesus would be feeding them, but that was not Jesus’ plan. He had not come to be a bread provider, a miracle worker, or a food distributor; He had come for something greater: “that whosoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The food was just a sign, a symbol of the Eucharist.
Jesus would not allow them to worship Him based on food; He withdrew from them and hid. We shouldn’t seek God merely for the sake of miracles; we should seek God for His own sake. Just as Jesus withdrew from them, he withdrew from us when we reduced him to the level of bread provider, yet this is one truth that prosperity preachers will never acknowledge. Today, our churches are filled with people who have come to ask for bread and are happy to hear messages which assure them of abundant bread (more than enough to waste), whereas in truth, Jesus did not die on the cross for the sake of bread. Jesus died so that we may be saved from sin.
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, deepen our love for you, make us good shepherds, and free us from materialism, which disguises itself as spirituality. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Ps. 145:10-11,15-18, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15).
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu