The Holy Eucharist Is Never Entirely About Jesus

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 25, 2021

Readings (Click here to read in full) 

    First Reading: 2 Kgs 4:42-44

    Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

    Second Reading: Eph 4:1-6

    Gospel: Jn 6:1-15

Word count: 809

    Slow (100 wpm): 8.1 minutes

    Average (130 wpm): 6.2 minutes

    Fast (160 wpm): 5. minutes

The Holy Eucharist is never entirely about Jesus. Yes, it is first and foremost Jesus Himself, His Real Presence, His Body and Blood, but it is never only about Himself. It is always about Jesus and us, the People of God (the Body of Christ, the Church).

Our Gospel today presents to us an understanding of what the Eucharist is. St. John recounted the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, which he directly connected with Jesus' discourses at Capernaum when Jesus introduced Himself as "the Bread of Life" (6:35, 48). St. John even set up the context when the miracle happened. It was before the Jewish feast of Passover.

There are 4 Eucharistic movements that happened at the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Two Fish that speak about Jesus and the people.

The First Movement

Jesus saw the vast crowd and felt their need for food. He said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" Jesus was sensitive to the needs of His people. Before, they could express that, Jesus, moved with pity for them, provided not only food for the minds and hearts, but also regular food that filled physical hunger. This shows how sensitive Jesus is to the material and spiritual needs of the people.

The Second Movement

The disciples, overwhelmed by the desire of Jesus to feed the vast crowd and by the number of people, about 5,000 of them, presented to Jesus a boy "who had five barley loaves and two fish." Despite the fact that they knew that it would not be enough for so many, they presented it to Jesus anyway.

The Third Movement

Jesus took the little that was presented to Him and made use of that small contribution to feed the 5,000 men. Appreciating the boy's generosity, He then gave thanks to the Father for this small gift. After having been blessed, Jesus had the bread distributed to the crowd. The disciples, still astounded by what happened, distributed the loaves and fish to everyone. It was multiplied a thousand times over. Everyone ate their fill.

The Fourth Movement

Jesus did not want to waste any small portion of the gifts, so He instructed his disciples to pick up the leftovers. Nothing was wasted. Every crumb was given  value. As the Gospel recounted, the disciples were able to collect twelve wicker baskets filled with fragments from the five barley loaves.

Lessons:

1) God knows what we need even before we ask Him. He is always ready to provide it for us. However, Jesus wants us to do our part, to also give our share.

2) Jesus answers our needs using what we give to Him. Even if the need is so great that what we give is nothing but just a single grain compared to what is required, He desires that we share even the little we have. And it is the small offering that we give back to God, that God uses as the basic instrument to make miracles happen.

3) The miracle of multiplication happened when the loaves were distributed. Miracles will also happen in our lives if we share what we have received from God with everyone. Even if we feel that what we have is not even enough for ourselves, and we share it anyway with those most in need, miracles will happen. We, then, are part of the miracle God is doing for His people.

4) When everyone was filled, Jesus taught us that material things are gifts of God and should not be wasted in a spirit of poverty. The gathering of the fragments, the crumbs left-over give us an excellent lesson in thrift as against wastefulness! Jesus is teaching us to give value even to left-overs, since by doing so we will be blessed all the more. The disciples "collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat." 

5) When we are faced with challenges and difficulties in life, Jesus tells us to put our trust in Him. He wants us to engage with Him with whatever resources we may have, even if they are clearly insufficient, as was the case with the five loaves of bread and the two fish. Jesus will supply what is lacking. In the Christian faith, even if we don't believe it, we must use what we have in life to serve our Lord. It all adds up to a lot. God can make even the most limited resources productive.

All of the above presents us with an important understanding of what the Holy Eucharist is. The Holy Eucharist is Jesus giving Himself as food for us using the gifts we give Him, little it may be. Since the Holy Eucharist is always about Jesus and us, nothing can ever be wasted.

Fr. Joel R, Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: flickr.com

CBCP News:

WATCH: Pope Francis' message for the 1st World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

The Holy Father has designated the 4th Sunday of July as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, close to the liturgical memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. This year the day falls on July 25.