John 6:1-15
Dear Friends,
For the next six Sundays we are going to leave the Gospel of Mark to read and pray the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This chapter presents Jesus as the Bread of Life.
John’s Gospel has a very different style than the other three Gospels. It is always presenting stories and information that open up to many levels of understanding and meaning. In this sixth chapter, John is presenting Jesus both in his teachings and as the Eucharistic presence as the Bread of Life.
In today’s story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish one part of John’s message is to present Jesus as the new Passover. John has a series of signs that all ultimately show Jesus as the new saving reality replacing the great saving events of the Old Testament.
The Passover celebrated the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt and their passage to the Promised Land. The manna from heaven was a significant part of his liberating process. John presents Jesus as the new bread from heaven.
This story of the loaves and fish appears six times in the four Gospels. Each time it has a slightly different context but the basic message is the same in each. God’s creation and God’s providence provides what is necessary to survive. We need to share the goods of creation with one another. Creation is basically gracious and life giving if we bring love and compassion to it. There is bread enough for all and if used rightly, there will be some left over.
Last Sunday we had a beautiful experience of this at the Cathedral. In the Mass for immigration we had an overflow crowd of people from an incredible number of different nations. We prayed and celebrated with them in their pain and fear. We shared the bread and fish of our support, encouragement and commitment to work for a just resolution of a very painful and challenging situation that demands comprehensive immigration reform.
Like today’s Gospel, it seems like an impossible situation. But with prayer, faith and a heart open to love, reality opens up to reveal a gracious God who never gives up on us.
The loaves and fish come in all different forms in our lives today. While they may be hidden if we do not have faith, they always have certain elements that Jesus reveals in today’s Gospel: Love, sharing and compassion for our brothers and sister in need.
Jesus has given us the power to multiply what we need to serve the many hungers of the human heart. We do this when we share our time, talent and treasure in loving service of our brothers and sisters in need.
In Christ,
Fr. Tracy O’Sullivan, O.Carm.
