Gospel: Multiplication of Bread

Today is the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time and our Gospel reflection will be lifted from the synoptic account of St Matthew.

When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the crowds heard of this and, leaving the town, went after him on foot.

So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick. 

When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and time has slipped by; so send the people away so they go to the villages to buy themselves some food."

Jesus replied, "There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves."

But they answered, "All we have with us is five loaves and two fish."

So he said, "Bring them to me."

He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds.

They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps left over, twelve baskets full. 

Now about five thousand men have eaten, to say nothing of women and children.

How generous are we? The Gospel tells us of Jesus' encounter of a crowd who is seeking his presence. He chose to withdrew from the boat for him and his disciples to be alone, probably to rest. But when he saw the crowd who travelled by foot just to seek him, his heart was full of mercy that he healed their sick.

When we do ministry, our main purpose is to spread the Gospel and proclaim the good news to all people. In our present reading, Jesus showed great mercy to the crowd because he knew that they were poor, and their only hope rests on God.

But instead of sending them away so that they can buy themselves something to eat, Jesus commands his disciples to feed them. Yet, the disciples only have five loaves and two fish, which is obviously not enough. But with prayer and thanksgiving, Jesus multiplied them for the whole crowd to be satisfied, and there was even scraps left of twelve baskets full.

The multiplication of bread calls us to be more generous, especially to the poor. It is our duty to give spiritual guidance to the faithful and to the world, but it is also incumbent upon us to tend to the necessities of less fortunate people. Jesus showed us that we are not too poor if we want to give. By prayer and thanksgiving, what we have will always be enough. We are the Gospel. We are the light. And we are the treasure in Heaven.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we praise and adore you. Help us to be more generous, to have an open hand for the needy. Bless us more so we can be a blessing to others; in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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Picture from Pixabay.