Seventeenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary:
11
Jieklu, u jibqgħalhom iż-żejjed
Is-Sbatax-il Ħadd
taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
2 KINGS 4:42-44
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.
Qari I
mit-Tieni Ktieb
tas-Slaten 4, 42-44
F’dak iż-żmien, ġie għand Eliżew
raġel minn
Responsorial Psalm
PS
145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
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.
R. 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.
R. 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.
R. The
hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 144 (145),
10-11.15-16.17-18
R/. (ara
16): Iftaħ idek, Mulej: ferraħna bil-ġid li tagħtina
Kulma għamilt iroddlok ħajr, Mulej;
iberkuk il-ħbieb tiegħek kollha.
Is-sebħ tas-saltna tiegħek ixandru,
fuq is-setgħa tiegħek jitkellmu. R/.
Għajnejn kulħadd iħarsu lejk, Mulej,
u inti tagħtihom l-ikel f’waqtu.
Int tiftaħ idek,
u xxabba’ ’l kulħadd bil-ġid. R/.
Ġust il-Mulej fl-imġiba tiegħu kollha,
twajjeb f’dak kollu li għamel.
Qrib il-Mulej lejn kull min isejjaħlu,
lejn kull min isejjaħlu fis-sewwa. R/.
EPHESIANS 4:1-6
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..
Qari II
mill-Ittra ta’ San Pawl
Appostlu lill-Efesin 4,1-6
Ħuti, inħeġġiġkom jien,
il-priġunier tal-Mulej, biex timxu sewwa skont is-sejħa li biha kontu msejħin;
billi bl-umiltà kollha, bil-ħlewwa u bis-sabar, taħmlu u tħobbu ’l xulxin.
Ħabirku biex iżżommu spirtu wieħed bir-rabta tas-sliem; ġisem wieħed u ruħ waħda,
l-istess kif kontu msejħa għal tama waħda; Mulej wieħed, fidi waħda, magħmudija
waħda; Alla wieħed u Missier ta’ kulħadd, li hu fuq kulħadd, b’kulħadd u
f’kulħadd. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
JOHN 6:1-15
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.
Evanġelju
Qari skont San Ġwann 6,
1-15
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù telaq lejn in-naħa l-oħra tal-baħar tal-Galilija,
jew ta’ Tiberija. Ħafna nies marru warajh, għax raw is-sinjali li kien jagħmel
bil-fejqan tal-morda. Ġesù tela’ lejn l-għoljiet u qagħad hemm bilqiegħda
mad-dixxipli tiegħu. Kien qrib l-Għid, il-festa tal-Lhud. Ġesù rafa’ għajnejh,
lemaħ kotra ta’ nies ġejja lejh, u qal lil Filippu: “Mnejn nixtru l-ħobż biex
dawn ikollhom x’jieklu?” Dan qalhulu biex jippruvah, għaliex hu kien jaf
x’sejjer jagħmel. Filippu wieġbu: “Mitejn dinar ħobż ma jkunux biżżejjed
għalihom biex kull wieħed minnhom jieħu xi ftit”. Wieħed mid-dixxipli tiegħu,
Indrì, ħu Xmun Pietru, qallu: “Hawn tfajjel li għandu ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir u
żewġ ħutiet żgħar; imma dawn x’inhuma għal daqshekk nies?”. Ġesù qal: “Qiegħdu
n-nies bilqiegħda”. Dik in-naħa kien hemm ħafna ħaxix. Għalhekk in-nies, xi
ħamest elef raġel, qagħdu bilqiegħda. Ġesù ħa l-ħobżiet, radd il-ħajr, u
qassamhom lil dawk li kienu bilqiegħda; hekk ukoll għamel bil-ħut, u kulħadd ħa
kemm ried. Meta xebgħu, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli
tiegħu: “Iġbru l-loqom li baqa’, biex xejn ma jinħela”. Marru jiġbruhom, u mlew
tnax-il qoffa bil-loqom li kien fadlilhom in-nies mill-ħames ħobżiet tax-xgħir
wara li kienu kielu. Għalhekk dawn in-nies, meta raw dan is-sinjal li għamel
Ġesù, qalu: “Dan hu tassew il-Profeta li għandu jiġi fid-dinja!” Imma Ġesù,
meta ntebaħ li kienu ġejjin biex jeħduh bilfors ħalli jagħmluh sultan, raġa’
warrab waħdu lejn l-għoljiet. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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It is never enough,
until we give it away
A
reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
Sunday's
Old Testament reading from 2 Kings 4:42-44 is a fitting prelude to John's
version of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (6:1-21). The author of
Kings tells us about one of Elisha's servants who doubts that 20 loaves of
barley is enough to feed 100 people. Elisha, however, trusts the promise of the
Lord and overrules his servant. The miracle vindicates Elisha's trust. The
numbers fed are modest in comparison with the feeding of the 5,000 in John's
Gospel!
Bread
is a symbol of the person and work of Jesus in John's great Eucharistic
teaching in Chapter 6, and this Eucharistic theme continues over the next four
weeks of Scripture readings. Today's Gospel is John's marvelous story of the
multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The various accounts of the
multiplication of loaves and fishes, two each in Mark and in Matthew and one
each in Luke and in John, indicate the wide interest of the early Church in
their Eucharistic gatherings (e.g., Mark 6:41; 8:6; 14:22) and recall also the
sign of bread in Exodus 16; Deuteronomy 8:3-16; Psalm 78:24-25; 105:40; Wisdom
16:20-21. The miraculous event recounted by the four evangelists points forward
to the idea of life in God's kingdom as a banquet at which the Messiah will
preside.
Unique perspectives
Mark's
readers saw this incident as an anticipation of the Last Supper (14:22) and the
messianic banquet, both of which were celebrated in the community's Eucharists. Matthew's
addition of the number of people present and fed is significant because the
total figure could well have come to 20,000 or 30,000 people, and the miracle
is repeated again in 15:38. The sheer numbers of those fed give the feeding
stories a distinct social character.
Luke
links his feeding account with Jesus' prediction of his passion and his
instructions about bearing one's cross daily (9:18-27). To celebrate the
Eucharist in memory of Jesus (22:19) is to share not only his mission (9:1-6)
but also his dedication and destiny, symbolized by the cross (9:18-27). The
Eucharist is part of a journey in Luke's Gospel, nourishing and strengthening
us for continuing faithfully in our way of life.
Johannine details
John's
multiplication story is a central part of Jesus' important teaching on the
Bread of Life (6:1-15). This story is immediately followed by Jesus' walking on
water. John's multiplication story has been expanded in the introduction by the
addition of 1) the vague chronological marker "after these things";
2) the specification of the place, the Lake of Tiberias (This is also the place
of the appearance of the risen Lord in John 21:1.); 3) the motivation for the
crowd -- they have seen Jesus' healings (signs); 4) the reference to the
impending "Passover of the Jews."
As
in other Johannine miracle stories, the initiative for this miracle clearly
lies with Jesus. Philip does not perceive that Jesus' question is an appeal to
his faith and simply refers to the amount of money required. Jesus teases
Philip to have bigger dreams and better hopes rather than to reduce them down
to reality. In verses 14-15, the crowds respond correctly that Jesus is the
messianic prophet but misunderstand what they are really saying. The true
nature of Jesus' kingship, which is not that of a national liberator, will only
be revealed at his trial (18:33-37; 19:12-15).
One
unique Johannine touch is the role of the young boy in this miracle story. What
human reason did not dare to hope became a reality with Jesus thanks to a young
boy's generous heart.
Living bread
The
multiplication of the loaves is an enduring image of the Eucharist. Jesus
wanted to use this humble gift of a few loaves and fishes to feed a multitude
and more (12 baskets were left!). Logic and human reason often say to us,
"We have no more than five loaves and two fish." But Jesus asks that
even such meagre provisions as these, together with the trust and generosity of
disciples of every age, be stretched to their limits. "Let's see. It will
never be enough until we start to give it away."
For
the believer, Jesus is much more than a miracle worker; he himself is heavenly
food. The believer will never again experience hunger or thirst. As bread
sustains life, Jesus will sustain all who approach him in faith. To acknowledge
Jesus as the living bread is the ultimate expression of God's love in Christ's
death and glorification.
Prolonging
the miracle
Whenever
I read the miracle stories of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, I
recall these stirring words from Pope John Paul II's 1998 Apostolic Letter Dies
Domini -- On Keeping the Lord's Day Holy (No. 71). These words illustrate what
lies at the heart of today's miracle of the loaves and fishes and challenge
each of us about our duties to truly put the Eucharist into practice in daily
life:
"The
teachings of the Apostles struck a sympathetic chord from the earliest
centuries, and evoked strong echoes in the preaching of the Fathers of the
Church. Saint Ambrose addressed words of fire to the rich who presumed to
fulfill their religious obligations by attending church without sharing their
goods with the poor, and who perhaps even exploited them: 'You who are rich, do
you hear what the Lord God says? Yet you come into church not to give to the
poor but to take instead.' St. John Chrysostom is no less demanding: 'Do you
wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not
pay him homage in the temple clad in silk only then to neglect him outside
where he suffers cold and nakedness. He who said: "This is my body"
is the same One who said: "You saw me hungry and you gave me no
food," and "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also
to me" ... What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with
golden chalices, when he is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger,
and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.'
"These
words effectively remind the Christian community of the duty to make the
Eucharist the place where fraternity becomes practical solidarity, where the
last are the first in the minds and attentions of the brethren, where Christ
himself -- through the generous gifts from the rich to the very poor -- may
somehow prolong in time the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves."
Questions for
reflection
What
does Jesus' Eucharistic presence mean for us? Does our participation in the
weekly and daily celebrations of the Lord's meal transform us into people of
gratitude, loving kindness, justice, and charity? In what ways does the
Eucharist symbolize the life we are living and our life symbolize the
Eucharist? How do we express gratitude? Is the Eucharist giving direction to
our life?
Do
we not often wonder where we shall get the means to accomplish what seems good
and necessary? Today's miracle reveals the extraordinary resources of life
within each of us. In order to sustain our hopes, we must believe in miracles.
We must feast on the Body and Blood of the Lord for our real energy and life.
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