A Few Words On "The Word"

July 30, 2006
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 6: 1-15

Multiplying Miracles

We interrupt our regularly scheduled gospel to bring you this bulletin. The Gospel of Mark is so short, that if we keep reading it bit by bit, we'll run out of gospel before the end of the year. So for the next five weeks, we read from the Gospel of John instead. We'll read chapter 6 bit by bit. This way, when we get back to Mark, there'll be enough to carry us through til year's end.

Loaves and fishes. This is a favorite story told often when kids make their first communion. Maybe it was told to you then, too. The adults can't seem to get it together, but a kid has five loaves of bread and two fishsticks. And somehow it ends up being enough not only to feed everybody, to have leftovers.

Today some Christians are embarrassed by these miracle stories. If God created nature, why would God turn around and break the very physical laws that God set up? That's actually a good question, but for another time. Embarrassed Christians will say, "The real miracle was in sharing. When the little boy shared his food, others pulled out food they were hiding and hoarding, and voila!" Maybe. Trying to analyze how the miracle happened misses the point. The point is what it means, what it did to and for people, even for us some 2000 years later.

Because this gospel is not some newspaper account that went down long ago and far away. First clue: Look what Jesus does. Takes bread. Says the blessing. Breaks the bread. Shares it with all. Sound familiar? (If you're just not getting it today, look at Mark 15: 22-25. This is an open-book test!) Second clue: How much leftovers? Twelve lunch bags full? Twelve. Hmm. Twelve apostles, twelve baskets of left-over. "We believe in one, holy, catholic, apostolic church," a community and a tradition "that comes to us from the apostles."

Whatever happened ages ago-and btw, ignore most of those programs on the History or Discovery Channel that promise to explain the Bible; they mostly get it all wrong-whatever happened then still happens now, this Sunday and next Sunday and every Sunday. A morsel of bread that is Christ's body, a sip of wine that is Christ's blood is enough to fill us up, to fill everyone else in the room up, and leave leftovers for even more people. Miracles tend to multiply.

Reflection Question

Tell about a time when what everyone thought was too little turned out to be more than enough-food, fun, love, whatever!

Join us in our Forum to discuss these questions!