Posted on July 26, 2024 View all Gospel Reflection
“There’s nothing to eat!”
How many times do teenagers open the refrigerator and after looking at what is inside say these very words? Usually it is because there is nothing they want to eat, but in many cases it can be true that there is nothing in the refrigerator because of economic realities.
In the first reading and the Gospel, we see this latter reality come up. When the servants of Elisha presented him with twenty barley loaves, he said “Give it to the people to eat.” But they objected because there were almost a hundred people present. But Elisha said “They shall eat and there shall be some left over.” In the Gospel the reality is even more stark. There the disciples presented to Jesus a mere five loaves of bread and two fish. What could that do for five thousand men (not counting the many children and women also present)!? But even there, Jesus said “Have the people recline.” And then he proceeded to give thanks and distribute the food to the multitude. When the disciples gathered what was left over, they filled twelve wicker baskets with the fragments.
In these readings there are two messages for us to reflect on this week. The first is that no matter how hungry we are, the Lord will always provide us with what we need. Even when we look at our own resources and fall short, the Lord encourages us to trust in Him. In fact, it is usually when we look at our own resources that we fall short. How can we doubt the power of Christ in our lives?
The disciples were only looking at things with eyes of the world. They were not looking at things through the eyes of faith. When Jesus asked St. Philip to get food for the large crowd, he already knew what he was going to do. He was just testing to see how St. Philip might respond. We are each sent into the world with a mission, a vocation, a plan from the Lord. But we do not always look at it this way. But as the Psalmist reminds us “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”
Even St. Paul, who was being held in prison, trusted that the circumstances of his life, were all part of a bigger plan through which the Lord would lead. St. Paul encourages us to live with all humility, gentleness and patience. He calls us to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received bearing with one another through love.
In these times where many people can get caught up with materialism, or believing that they have to get everything they can at any cost, St. Paul’s words could not ring more true. We must give thanks to the Lord for everything we have received. We must trust that he will lead us along the plan of our earthly life. We must trust and love others for Jesus himself did the same even to those who persecuted him unjustly. It is when we trust in Him, that Christ will provide for us all that we need with abundance for all who are around us.
