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| “The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes” by Lambert Lombard, 1530’s |
Reading I: 1 John 4:7-10
Commentary on 1 Jn 4:7-10
This wonderful selection from St. John’s first letter is a summary of the Apostle’s major contribution to our understanding of God as revealed through His Only Begotten Son. The exhortation to love one another is repeated frequently throughout the author’s Gospel and his letters. The idea that “God is love” is central to our understanding of God and Christ. In this short passage we see not only a glimpse of God’s intent in sending Jesus to the world as a proof of his love for us through “expiation of our sins,” but also our own imperative as Christians to love one another in imitation of him.
CCC: 1 Jn 4:8 214, 221, 733, 1604; 1 Jn 4:9 458, 516; 1 Jn 4:10 457, 604, 614, 620, 1428
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms. In this selection we hear an echo of the justice and peace of the king’s rule that is central in Isaiah’s prophecy Isaiah 11:1-10 . It is sung for the king and prays to God for wisdom, that he might be seen as dealing justly with the people and compassionately with the poor. He concludes this selection asking for God’s blessing for himself and all the people he governs. We see this psalm as a song extolling the generous and compassionate rule of the Messiah.
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Gospel: Mark 6:34-44
Commentary on Mk 6:34-44
The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus that is presented in all four gospels. The reason for that may be that it was seen as anticipating the Eucharist and the final banquet in the kingdom (Matthew 8:11; 26:29). However, it looks not only forward but backward in history. It is also an image of the feeding of Israel with manna in the desert at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 16), a miracle that in some Jewish expectation would be repeated in the messianic age. It may also be meant to recall Elisha's feeding a hundred men with small provisions (2 Kings 4:42-44).
We note the numeric symbolism used in St. Mark’s account, the five loaves and two fish combined to give seven, the most complete number. The fragments collected at the conclusion of the meal fill twelve baskets, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Gospel author’s audience, which was predominately Jewish, would have seen the story as a fulfillment of the historical tradition from which they came.
CCC: Mk 6:38 472
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Reflection:
Consider for a moment the love of Christ. As St. John says, it is not that we love him, but that he loves us. By Jesus’ will he left behind the complete peace that is his, in union with the Heavenly Father, and became man. He became man with all its difficulties and pain. He assumed the human shell that is subject to all the elements of weather, environment, and disease. He accepted the human condition that feels the mental hurt of rejection and the physical hurt of wounds inflicted by sadistic torturers (even those he loved). All of this he assumed along with flesh so that we could come to understand that God loves us and cares for us.
We see, as an example of his love for us, the story of the feeding of the multitudes from the Gospel of St. Mark. The reason Jesus fed all those who had followed him was not simply as some demonstration of his power. He did not violate the laws of physics so everyone would know that he had power over the elements (and them). St. Mark tells us at the very onset of the story: “When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them.” Was this pity because they came out without food and were hungry? No, it was because “they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
They were searching for leadership, for someone to guide them, for someone who loved them. What they were searching for cannot be clearer. It was not another person to tell them what to do or how to behave. They were a subjugated people, under the harsh rule of the Roman Empire . In addition they were under the rule of their religious leaders who had yet another set of rules for them to follow. If they violated the Roman rule they would be imprisoned or even killed. If they violated the rules set down for them by the scribes and Pharisees, they would be shunned and punished by God whom they understood as a God of vengeance and justice. No, the people were not looking for someone to lead them in that way. They already had enough leaders in the civil sense.
So if the people were not looking for that type of leadership, what were they seeking? The same thing many people seek today but cannot quite put it into words. They were seeking hope, encouragement, and love. That is what they find in Jesus; that is why he fed them in that deserted place. That is why he feeds us in the secular world, where we are deserted, with hope and caring. In this miraculous act he answers the unspoken question: where can we find hope, where can we find love?
Today, as we still marvel at the Lord’s incarnation, we also marvel at the incomprehensible love that his act of will demonstrated as he came to us to feed us and give us hope.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes” by Lambert Lombard, 1530’s.
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