Five barley loaves and two fish

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Collect 

O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

2 Kgs 4:42-44

They shall eat and there shall be some left over.

A reading from the second Book of Kings

A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
   twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
   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 left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
   as the LORD had said.

The word of the Lord.

Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R. :

℟. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
   and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
   and speak of your might.

℟. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
   and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
   and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

℟. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The LORD is just in all his ways
   and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
   to all who call upon him in truth.

℟. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Eph 4:1-6

One body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
   urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
   with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
   bearing with one another through love,
   striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
   one body and one Spirit,
   as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
   one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
   one God and Father of all,
   who is over all and through all and in all.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Lk 7:16

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

A great prophet has risen in our midst.
God has visted his people.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jn 6:1-15

He distributed as much as they wanted to those who were reclining.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

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 on the mountain,
   and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
   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 him,
   because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
   “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 boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
   but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
   and distributed them to those who were reclining,
   and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
   “Gather the fragments left over,
   so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
   and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
   from the five barley loaves
   that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he 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.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection
The Gospel begins by telling us that many people followed Jesus because they saw the signs (miracles) of healing the sick.  

Jesus knew what motivated them. He was not indifferent to their needs: He lifted his eyes, he saw them and wanted to feed them. He turned to his disciples to share his concern, although he was just testing them. 

Philip made an estimate of what was needed and lost heart. 

Andrew’s solution were five loaves and two fish for 5000 men! But Andrew also like Philip was beginning to lose heart. 

Jesus saw what was in the hearts of those gathered to hear him as well as in the hearts of his disciples.  

Let us review with Jesus some of the decisions that we have made and solutions we have found recently and allow him to see what it was that motivated us. Speak to him about what your heart was searching for. 

Do I know what I am searching for? Am I like Philip, worried? 

Am I like Andrew who came up with an inadequate solution? 

Have I experienced the feeling of losing heart? 

Jesus’ Eucharistic gesture through which he gave thanks to God gave a sense of relief to the disciples from their feelings of turmoil and despair by satisfying the crowd of more than 5000 men, also the disciples had collected 12 baskets full of pieces that were leftover! 

Satisfied, the crowd sees a political solution in Jesus, and wants to make him king.  

But Jesus withdraws alone to the mountain. St John tells us that Jesus withdrew to the mountain to pray. 

Remain with Jesus as he prays. Observe that Jesus preferred not to be king as the people wanted. Jesus wanted to be alone with the Father. He chose being in relationship instead of allowing the people’s opinion to influence him. He placed his identity and the will of the Father above popularity. 

Prayer

Lord, be with me when I begin to lose heart. 

Be with me in my minor solutions before your will for me. 

Teach me to praise you in every circumstance in my life.  

Give me the grace that as you satisfy me, I will also be attentive in collecting the pieces that are leftover as evidence of your loving abundance towards me. 

Allow me to follow you on the mountain of prayer so that, with you, I may search for a relationship with the Father and that I may escape the lure of the mainstream and popularity. 

Amen. 

 

Ara l-Qari tal-Ħdud li għaddew