We all know the story of the loaves and fishes; it’s the
only miracle story found in all four Gospels.
And we humans tend to cling to those stories of tangible miracles, as
the crowds of Jesus’ time did: they
follow Jesus, hoping for yet another spectacle, a miracle to witness and tell
their friends about. Plus, they all know
the story of Elisha (in the second Book of Kings), whose mini-miracle – using a
whopping twenty barley loaves to feed
only a hundred people – vigorously affirmed
the power of the God of Israel. So
they’re probably thinking, let’s see if he can beat Elisha’s numbers. And does he ever!
With Elisha in mind, Jesus takes the five barley loaves and two
fish supplied by a nameless boy, gives thanks, and distributes them to all
who are hungry, about five thousand in
number. And no one questions
him: the disciples trust that Jesus
knows what he’s doing, and they follow his every request. Indeed, the crowd follows practically with
the expectation that Jesus can do pretty much anything.
Now, Elisha had leftovers, but nothing like what Jesus
has: twelve
wicker baskets filled with leftover food.
Why this detail? Because, besides
just meeting the physical hunger of his followers, Jesus wants them to
understand that the food he offers will satisfy their spiritual needs as well –
and not just sufficiently, but in abundance.
The hand of the Lord feeds us; he
answers all our needs, the psalmist tells us. All our needs. Only from a place of faith can we move beyond
the pyrotechnics of the spectacle to the deeper meaning of the multiplication
of loaves and fishes: that if we but
trust in God, Jesus’ Truth will feed and sustain us beyond our wildest
imaginings. And this is just the
beginning of the Bread of Life discourse; there’s more to come next week!
(This reflection is based on notes from Fr. Pat's Thursday night Scripture class.)
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