5 barley loaves and 2 fishes.” (Jn. 6:9)
Compassion
July
29, 2012, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
|
2 Kings 4:42-44 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15
Leftovers
in the O.T.
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the first-fruits, and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant objected, “How can
I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to
eat. For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some leftovers.’”
And when they had eaten, there were leftovers, as the LORD had said. (2 Kings 4:42-44)
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.
Leftovers in the N.T.
Jesus
went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed Him, because they saw
the signs He was performing on the sick. Jesus went up a hill and sat down
there with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus looked
around and saw that a large crowd was coming to Him, He said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test Philip, for He really knew what He was going to do.
Philip answered, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for
each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of
Simon Peter, said to Him, “There is a lad here with 5 barley loaves and 2
fishes, but what good are these for so many hungry people?” Since there was a
lot of grass there, Jesus said to Andrew, “Tell the people to sit down.” So all the people sat down; there were about 5000
men.
Then
Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to those reclining on
the grass. He did the same with the fishes. And they all had as much as they
wanted. When they had had their fill, He said to his disciples, “Now gather up
the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” And 12
baskets were filled with leftovers. When the people saw the wonderful thing Jesus
had done, they said “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the
world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry Him off to make
Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain alone.
The
Gospel of the Lord.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
Ramadan – the Muslims’ Lent
It
is Ramadan now in the Muslim community. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and this year it
runs from July 20 to August 18. Ramadan is a time when the faithful Muslim
fasts from dawn to dusk every day. It’s a time for the Muslim to introspect,
reflect and reinforce the bond between the Allah and himself. It’s a time for him
to grow in patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God.
What the 40 days of Lent are to Christians, these 30 days of Ramadan are to
Muslims.
Recorded
in all four gospel
Last Sunday Jesus looked with
compassion upon the listless crowds who looked like “sheep without a shepherd.”
(Mk. 6:34)
This Sunday Jesus looks again with
compassion upon the crowds who are hungry, and so He multiplies a few barley
loaves and fishes to feed them. Because that event was frequently recounted in
the Eucharistic liturgy of the early Church, it came to be recorded in all four
gospels. (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6: 30-44; Lk:
9:10-17; Jn 6: 1-15) No other miracle of Jesus is recorded
in all four gospels.
A liturgical
cadence & a babble of numbers
With time, the
liturgical recounting of Loaves and Fishes acquired a kind of liturgical
cadence which sounds so much like the words of consecration at Mass: “He took the
bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said, `This is my
body.’” What’s more, by the time the
story of Loaves and Fishes was written down in the 2nd
half of the 1st century, it had acquired a kind of babble of
numbers.
Today’s gospel reading, for example, mentions 5 loaves, 2 fishes, 5000 people
fed and 12 baskets of leftovers. But the New
American Bible translation of the same event (based on a differing Greek
manuscript) speaks of 7 loaves, 2 fishes, 4000 people fed and 7 baskets of
leftovers. As the story of Loaves and Fishes was told and retold, especially in
the Eucharistic life of the early church community, it lost mathematical
accuracy. And that’s OK, because Scripture is not about mathematics but about
message.
A different take on Loaves and Fishes
In the traditional view of this event, 5 loaves and
2 fishes were miraculously transformed by Jesus into enough food to feed 5000
men. William Barclay (1907- 1978), professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow, had a different take on this `miracle’ of Loaves and Fishes. It’s a
take which is becoming increasingly popular. He says the compassion of Jesus
and the little lad (who was willing to share his loaves and fishes) inspired
the crowd to share as well. Suddenly people were digging into their own hidden
food supply, and were sharing bread with those in need. Suddenly
there was enough food to satisfy the hunger of 5000 plus people, and still have
12 wicker baskets of leftovers. In such an interpretation, it is not the 5
loaves and 2 fishes which are transformed; rather it is the uncaring crowds who
are transformed into sharing human beings, as they see
the good example of the little lad sharing his loaves and fishes. “A little boy shall lead them,”
says Scripture. (Is. 11:6)
A local outbreak of
socialism?
Some
reject this `watered-down’ version which sees Loaves and Fishes not a true
miracle but simply as `a local outbreak of socialism.’ That, they say, is not what the gospel writers are
describing, and that’s not what the
hungry crowds were experiencing. They were experiencing nothing less than 5
loaves and 2 fishes actually satisfying the hunger of 5000 plus people. Nothing
less than that! One gentleman who stoutly rejects the `watered-down version’
writes,
One Sunday I
visited a parish in another city and learned something new: the multiplication
of loaves and fishes didn’t really happen! The people in the wilderness were greedy,
and had loaves and fishes hidden under their robes, which they weren’t ready to
share. But the example of Jesus and the little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes
encouraged them to pull out their food and share. The disciples didn’t know
about the hidden surplus food, but this parish priest did! That’s pure
non-sense, and it turns me off!
Or a
local outbreak of compassion?
There are some who really like the so-called
`watered-down version’ of Loaves and Fishes. In it they see `a local outbreak of compassion’
for hungry people. They ask, “At the end of the day which is the
greater miracle: the transformation of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes into enough
food to feed 5000 hungry people? Or the wonderful transformation of uncaring
(and perhaps even selfish) people, who turn into caring and sharing human
beings, as they see the example of the little lad sharing his 5 loaves and 2 fishes?
The watered-down version on State Street
The watered-down version of Loaves and Fishes
is alive and well in Milwaukee, WI. on State Street between 9th and
10th. There stands the
historic church of St. Benedict the Moor (Milwaukee’s first church dedicated to
ministry in the African-American community). Today it is particularly
well-known for its free daily meal known as `Operation Loaves and Fishes.’ Behind
that operation lies the story of a little lad from Ireland[1] who had
5 loaves and 2 fishes which he wanted to share with hungry people in Milwaukee.
So he opened the doors of his little house (which he called Casa Maria) to anyone hungry off the
streets. Soon there were 5, then 10,
then 20 hungry people dropping in for supper. With time the little operation
grew too big for the lad’s little house, and he had to go in search of a more
spacious dining hall. He finally found it at St. Benedict’s in Milwaukee’s central
city.
When
people from the suburbs saw the good example of the little lad from Ireland
sharing his 5 loaves and 2 fishes in central city, they also wanted to pitch in
and share their abundance with the hungry of the city. Daily people from the
suburbs pitch in and share in `Operation Loaves and Fishes.’ Daily they prepare
good healthy meals in their homes, and bring them into central city. Now in these
very hard economic times, more than four hundred hungry people sit down daily
to eat a good substantial meal served with great compassion and dignity at St.
Benedict’s. And it all started with the little lad from Ireland, sharing his 5
loaves and 2 fishes. In `Operation Loaves and Fishes’ suburbanites are obeying Jesus’
command to his disciples (who wanted to send the hungry masses off to the
nearby villages to buy food): “You yourselves give them something to
eat.” (Mt. 14:16)
Compassion
– not a dirty word
In
the world of politics compassion is an unmentionable emotion - a dirty word. Compassion
conjures up all the horrors of the welfare system “which does for others what people
should be challenged to do for themselves.” Compassion, however, wasn’t an
unmentionable emotion - a dirty word for Jesus. In last Sunday’s gospel Jesus
was “moved with compassion” for the crowds, who were “like sheep without a
shepherd.” (Mark 6:34) In today’s gospel event, He is again “moved with
compassion” for the crowds who are hungry, and so He multiplies
the loaves and fishes to feed them. (Mt 14:14)
Gov. Cuomo and compassion
The 2012 Democratic
National Convention is scheduled to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina
from Sept. 3-6. That puts us in mind of another Democratic National Convention held
in San Francisco, back in 1984. Mario Cuomo, then governor of New York State,
delivered the keynote address to the Convention on July 16. It was an outstanding
speech in which Cuomo was courageous enough to use the `compassion’ word. In
his address to the Convention he said,
President Reagan told us
from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism - survival
of the fittest. He told us, “Government can’t do everything.” We
believe that survival of the fittest may be a good working description of the
process of evolution, but a government of human beings should elevate itself to
a higher order. We would rather have laws written by the patron of this great
city, the man called `the world’s most sincere Democrat,’ St Francis of Assisi,
than have laws written by Darwin. We want a government which is
not ashamed but is courageous enough to use the words love and compassion.
Conclusion
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 – presidential election day
There
are those who believe (subliminally at least) in Darwin’s `survival of the
fittest.’ They staunchly protest that “government can’t do everything.” And
then there are those who, like Gov. Cuomo, believe that government should be “courageous
enough to use the word compassion,” and should do for people what they are
unable to do for themselves. Tuesday, November
6, 2012,
is presidential election day. That election should rest on one great bottom
line: Government can’t do everything, but it can and
should be compassionate, and do for people what they can’t do for themselves.
