The Sunday Gospel [July 29, 2012]
John 6:1-15
1After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias]. 2A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5When 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?” 6He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” 8One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10Jesus 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. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.14When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet,*the one who is to come into the world.” 15Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Reflection
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” ~ v. 9
Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you bring your gifts to Jesus as this young boy did, nothing much seems to happen? They just seem to sit there, undeveloped and underappreciated. Did you ever think that perhaps, to use a business parallel, the blockage is on the distribution side?
Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to just sit quietly while he multiplied the loaves. He told them to have the people recline – he told them to get the crowd ready for the miracle he was about to do. It wasn’t time to sit by and wait for Jesus to do something; it was time to get to work! And so the disciples organized the people into groups sitting on the grass. That’s when the miracle happened.
So if you want to see your offerings to God multiplied, you have an essential role to play. You may not be working the miracle yourself, but you do need to get out there and do something! It is impossible to know what this “something” is in each situation. We all have different gifts, different life situations, different opportunities that will present themselves today. But one thing is sure: Each of us will have an opportunity to do something important for the kingdom of God.
Starting today, try your best to be open to your Father’s promptings when it comes to the people you meet, the situations you encounter, and the movements of your heart. And then take a step in whatever direction you think he is leading you. The result may surprise you!\
Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarroabel.blogspot.com/).
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