First Reading - 2 Kings 4:42-44
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm
144(145):10-11,15-18
Second Reading – Ephesians 4:1-6
Gospel
Acclamation – John 6:63,68
Alternative
Acclamation – Luke 7:16
The Gospel According to John 6:1-15 ©
(NJB)
Listen!
It is wise to trust in the providence of God,
knowing that it does not manifest itself as miraculous or supernatural
activity; we are the agents of the divine, God’s providence comes through us. Those
one-hundred men experienced this when the bread was distributed and none of
them took more than one hundredth of what had been given, each of them took
less than a fifth of a loaf…and there was some left over.
Know this.
God, the creator of the universe, God is not a king.
God is present in all times and all places, even in
the deepest recesses of the human heart, but God does not intervene directly in
human events. God’s influence over us is indirect; God shows us the way and it
is for us to take it. It is up to us to act on God’s behalf in relation to our
sisters and brothers, to care for our mother’s and father’s as God would have
us do. God’s power does not interfere with our freedom in any way.
Contemplate the vast power of God, in whom and
through whom the entire universe exists; contemplate the way of justice,
love and humility, keep to it, and share it with the stranger, the alien and
even your adversary.
The
apostle calls us to selflessness and to love, to recognize this truth: Gods
spirit animates all things. God is God of all beings; the whole of what is came
into being through the divine, exists in the divine, and without the divine would
cease to be, because God’s spirit animates all things.
As
children of God we each share in the same grace that was manifested by Jesus of
Nazareth. We each receive an equal share of God’s love, which is a love without
measure, infinite and eternal. We each reflect that grace for one another according
to our own willingness and our individual capacities which fluctuate in direct proportion
to our desires and ambitions for ourselves and our families.
Be
mindful of doctrine and its pitfalls.
Peter
would have us believe that he follows Jesus because Jesus has the secret to
eternal life, as if this were the purpose of the gospel, as if believing in the
proposition that Jesus is the “Holy One of God” is the key to receiving the
gift, as if the gift had not already been given to all of God’s children.
Peter
wants us to believe access to Jesus, to the truth and the reality of life
everlasting, is parceled out by God through the church, allowing some to come
to it while refusing others.
This
scheme is not true.
Jesus
preached the good news, and the good news is this:
God
loves you and you are saved. You are not saved for anything you have done, you
did not earn it, you are saved because God loves you and God love’s everyone.
The
promise of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment
in hell, or that when you are judged God will forgive you…if you do x, y, and
z.
God
has already forgiven you, you are already saved. God has prepared you and
everyone for eternal life, this is the good news…the really good news.
Believe
it!
Let
the goodness of the promise flow through you now and start living as if it were
true.
We
are not called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the “Holy One
of God;” we are called to act on the principles of Jesus’ faith, to be
charitable and of service to each other.
Remember.
At least half a century had passed from the time of
Jesus’ death to the time that Luke’s Gospel was written. By this time Palestine
(Judea and Samaria) were completely under Roman rule, Jerusalem had been
ruined, its temple destroyed, and the population killed or in bondage, scattered
across the Empire in the second great Diaspora.
There were no witnesses to the events Luke describes,
the story is a fabrication, pure myth, it never happened. Nevertheless, it
became part of the tradition and was handed down as evidence that Jesus had
both great compassion and great power.
The raising of the dead man at Nain asserts the
notion that widow should not be left alone, with no husband or son to protect
her. This is a metaphor not a miracle, suggesting that the mission of the church
is to protect the widow and keep her in life. This reversal of social norms and
the common way of life is the miracle. The widow has entered the church, and the
family of God will prevent the widow from being forces out into the margins of
society.
It is not that the widow’s son died, and returned to
life; it is that Jesus appointed the church to care for the widow in place of
her dead son. This is what puts Jesus directly in the tradition of the
prophets, not the miracle making, the wonder working, the acts of power and the
magic. It is his work as an advocate for justice in the community, his compassion
and humility that mark him as the prophet that he was.
Consider
the gospel reading for today; this reading from John is piece of pure
propaganda and a gross misrepresentation of Jesus’ ministry.
The
gospel writers took a story from the common tradition and embellished it, transforming
a story that was suggestive of a miracle, the feeding of the multitudes, into
an explicit work of magic.
In
other versions of this story the miracle of faith which led to the feeding of
the people could be read as having come from the people themselves, because
they were following the way that Jesus was leading them in, they shared
what they had and each received a portion of what was put on the common table.
The people, seeing how little food there was to be passed around, contributed
to the stores of foodstuffs they each had in their possession; those without
enough taking what they needed, and those with extra giving what they had in
the spirit of communitarianism and hospitality that was a hallmark of the
nascent church.
The
authors of John’s Gospel were not content with that; they could not resist the
temptation to embellish and give the credit to Jesus’ supernatural powers for
engineering a miraculous event. This editorial move undercuts the teaching of
Jesus. The way he preached is a living way; it does not ask us to have faith
in magic powers, but to trust in our neighbors and their basic commitment to principles
of justice and compassion.
First Reading - 2 Kings 4:42-44
They
Will Eat, and Have Some Left Over
A
man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing Elisha, the man of God, bread from the
first-fruits, twenty barley loaves and fresh grain in the ear.’ ‘Give it to the
people to eat’, Elisha said. But his servant replied, ‘How can I serve this to
a hundred men?’ ‘Give it to the people to eat’ he insisted ‘for the Lord says
this, “They will eat and have some left over.”’ He served them; they ate and
had some left over, as the Lord had said.
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 144(145):10-11,15-18
The
Greatness and Goodness of God
I
will bless you day after day and tell of your wonderful deeds, O Lord.
Alleluia!
I
will praise you to the heights, O God, my king –
I will bless your name for ever and for all
time.
I
will bless you, O God, day after day –
I will praise your name for ever and all
time.
The
Lord is great, to him all praise is due –
he is great beyond measuring.
Generation
will pass to generation the praise of your deeds,
and tell the wonders you have done.
They
will tell of your overwhelming power,
and pass on the tale of your greatness.
They
will cry out the story of your great kindness,
they will celebrate your judgements.
The
Lord takes pity, his heart is merciful,
he is patient and endlessly kind.
The
Lord is gentle to all –
he shows his kindness to all his creation.
Let
all your creatures proclaim you, O Lord,
let your chosen ones bless you.
Let
them tell of the glory of your reign,
let them speak of your power –
so
that the children of men may know what you can do,
see the glory of your kingdom and its
greatness.
Your
kingdom stands firm for all ages,
your rule lasts for ever and ever.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words,
the Lord is holy in all his deeds.
The
Lord supports all who are falling,
the Lord lifts up all who are oppressed.
All
look to you for help,
and you give them their food in due season.
In
your goodness you open your hand,
and give every creature its fill.
The
Lord is just in all his ways,
the Lord is kind in all that he does.
The
Lord is near to those who call on him,
to all those who call on him in truth.
For
those that honour him,
he does what they ask,
he hears all their prayers,
and he keeps them safe.
The
Lord keeps safe all who love him,
but he dooms all the wicked to destruction.
My
mouth shall tell the praises of the Lord.
Let
all flesh bless his holy name,
for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Second
Reading – Ephesians 4:1-6
One
Body, One Spirit, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God
I,
the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation.
Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and
patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that
binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called
into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within
all.
Gospel
Acclamation – John 6:63,68
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Your
words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal
life.
Alleluia!
Alternative
Acclamation – Luke 7:16
Alleluia,
alleluia!
A
great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to John 6:1-15 ©
The
Feeding of the Five Thousand
Jesus
went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large
crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus
climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly
before the Jewish feast of Passover.
Looking
up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some
bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself
knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii
would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples,
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five
barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to
them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many
as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and
gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the
fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to
the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So
they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the
meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given,
said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who
could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king,
escaped back to the hills by himself.
A Homily – The Seventeenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time (Year B)
