17th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

Sunday 28 July 2024
Gv 6,1-15

.“When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?””.
(Jn 6:5-9)

According to tradition, the event remembered in this passage happened at Tabgha, on the banks of Lake Tiberias, where Jesus gathers circa. 5000 people around Him. In every respects it is a congress. The people are actually drawn by the Master’s fame, attracted by the messianic signs He was working. The words of Jesus are original and persuasive, rendering God closer… As the hours pass, however, the need arises to provide food for this crowd.

Many things in this account are surprising, but the fact that out of 5000 people – most of them adults – only a young boy had the foresight to bring food is certainly curious. He is identified by Andrew, but he isn’t given a name. Let’s take a moment to turn our spotlight and attention on that boy: imagine him completely absorbed and taken by Jesus: His words, His way of doing things, the peace that He transmits, the signs that He performs… When the moment arrives to be refreshed and take a needed break, the disciples arrive and… what did they say to him? Maybe it was, “Excuse me, you’re the only one who has brought food and you need to share” or “will you lend your food to the Master for a moment so He can multiply it? You know nothing comes from nothing, and the Master needs something in His hands in order to multiply it”. We just don’t know what formula of words they used to ask for the food that he had brought. But we certainly know that the young boy gave everything that he had in his satchel: five small loaves and two fish! This young person teaches us to trust. He teaches us that if we don’t play our part (no matter how small) the miracle doesn’t happen. The Lord multiplies the little that we know how to share. So, it is not enough to pray to see a miracle in our life. It is necessary to trust, and learn to share.

Let’s hope that each one of us can be this nameless boy, because when you trust and share you are always young!

Fr. Giuseppe