Reflection for FRIDAY 2ND WEEK OF EASTER 

By

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar

Reflection after Meditate Reading of Today's WORD of GOD 

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.

Reflection on the readings 

Sharing Whatever We Have

When a Wave of Popular Opinion wanted to Appoint JESUS as King, HE Went Off to the Mountain by HIMSELF. 

If Our CHURCH is Right in Calling CHRIST the King of the Universe, We may Wonder why HE Reacted so Promptly & Negatively when HE was Offered the Kingship? What the Enthusiastic Crowds Wanted from JESUS was Not the Kind of Service HE had Come into This World to Offer. 

They Hoped to Have HIS Miraculous Powers at Their Disposal to Promote Their National & Personal Welfare. 

Most likely They were Less Interested in HIS Religious & Social Ideals than in Seeing Various Miracles Akin to that of the Loaves & Fishes. But HE had Intended This Sharing of Food to Teach Them a Particular Lesson. In One Sense, indeed, JESUS was Born 2b King, but Not in the Populist Way that They Wanted.

The Background to the Miracle was a Hungry Crowd Out in the Countryside, with Little or No Food Between Them. Faced by the People’s Obvious Need, HIS Disciples had Different Responses. 

Philip the Pragmatist Calculated that, Based on the Number of People & the Amount of Money They Had, No Solution was Possible. 

Andrew Knew that Someone in the Crowd had a Small Amount of Food – 5 Loaves & 2 fish – but He Dismissed This as an Insignificant Resource in the Circumstances.

Two Other Responses in the Story are Noteworthy. 

1st - The Boy who was Willing to Hand Over the Little Food He had Brought. 

He Showed a Most Generous Instinct by Giving what He Could, Modest though It was. 

2nd - The Action of JESUS HIMSELF, who Took the Food that was Offered &, Giving Thanks to GOD, Somehow Fed the Large Crowd. 

The Reading from Acts Mentions Several False Messianic Claimants who had Misled Popular Opinion in the Previous Years. 

At a Meeting of the Council, Gamaliel Proposed a Sensible Way to Resolve the Apostles’ Claim about JESUS. 

If This Claim is as False as the Others, It must Fail; but if It is Inspired by GOD, It should Not Be Opposed. 

Even so, the Apostles were Not Fully Absolved, for the Sanhedrin had Them Flogged before Setting Them Free. 

Still Unafraid, once They were Released, They Continued Preaching, Being Willing to Suffer for JESUS' Sake.

 As We Consider how Individuals have Survived Tests of Endurance, & how Christianity has Survived Over the Centuries, It Shows that All This is Part of GOD'S Plan. Other Christian CHURCHES too Deserve More Respect than Our CATHOLIC CHURCH Often Gives Them. 

The Story of the Loaves & Fishes can be a Real Spur to Ecumenism, Urging Our Leaders to Hurry Forward Towards Inter-Communion, to Follow Our LORD'S Express Wish that We All Be as One.


          Good Morning 

GOD Bless Us All Today Alleluia!