SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: John 6:1-15

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio tells us that the Gospel of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes has profound implications for the meaning of Christian vocation. Jesus asks the disciples to feed the crowd but they do not have the personal or material resources to do so. Then Jesus takes what little that they have to offer and transforms it into a great feast. In the same way, Jesus does not demand that each of us be endowed with wonderful talents or the ability to achieve great things. All he asks is that we be willing to offer our humble abilities and actions to his providence. If we do so, he can then bring them to marvellous fruition.

Parallels between the Gospel story and the Old Testament story of the Passover

This Sunday we hear of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes as given by the Gospel of St John. It is close to the time of the Passover and the crowd follow Jesus to the other side of the sea because of the signs and wonders he has done. The Passover in the Old Testament was when the Israelites followed Moses to the other side of the Red Sea because of the signs he had worked in Egypt. The events of the Passover, the journey through the desert, and the happenings at Mount Sinai transform the people of Israel into the people of God. In the journey to the Promised Land, they become the new man born from the Egyptian in their hearts. During their time in the desert they are fed with manna from heaven. The Gospel passage from John has many parallels with the Old Testament story, and is intended to help us to unlock the significance of the Passover in Christian terms. 

Jesus confronts the disciples with the poverty of their own resources

Jesus looks up and see a great crowd approaching. He asks Philip, "Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?" It is significant that he asks Philip the question. Philip is a Greek name, and the Greeks are known classically for their rational approach to life. In a moment Philip has assessed the situation. The most money they would be likely to have between them was 200 denarii - not an insignificant sum - but this couldn't hope to feed a crowd of such size. This episode is an episode aimed principally at the disciples. Philip has been put to the test and has had to admit that they are not up to the task of feeding this crowd. It is important for the disciples to be confronted with the fact that the vocation that Jesus gives them cannot be brought to fulfilment using their own resources. We will never have sufficient resources of our own to evangelize the people of God, to serve those who need to be served, comfort those who need to be comforted.

Discipleship is not about having great talents, but in offering whatever we have to Jesus

Andrew, the fisherman, is not as rational as Philip, and he intervenes to say that he has found a boy with five loaves and two fish, but he admits that that is very little for a crowd so large. The issue, however, is not whether what we have to offer is small or large, the issue is whether we are willing to hand what we have over to Jesus. It doesn't matter whether we are richly endowed with abilities or have few talents. The only thing that matters is whether we give Jesus the chance to manage what we have to offer. What we must draw from this text is the constant awareness that what the Lord wants from us is not great acts or achievements, but the willingness to offer our lives and humble actions to his providence.

Each of us can live fruitful lives if we offer our humbles actions to Jesus

This text is profoundly vocational and has greater significance for the disciples than for the people who are fed. In the end the people are fed and are satisfied, but have understood little of the significance of the event. The disciples, by contrast, are given a profound lesson in the meaning of Christian vocation. Jesus did not create bread from nothing, but used the humble bread that was available. Each of us can achieve extraordinary deeds if the Lord is allowed to work in us. As Mary exclaimed, "The Almighty has worked marvels in me! He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty!" This is exactly what happens in the Gospel passage. I must orient my life to the Lord so that he can manage it, so that he can break it like bread and use it according to his plan. This text should banish fear from our hearts regarding our own inadequacies! It should prompt us to focus on one thing only: giving ourselves over to the Lord completely. He will take care of the rest.