Gospel: July 28, 2024
(Sunday)
17th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145: 10-11, 15-16, 17-18
The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our need.
1st Reading: 2 Kings 4: 42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing bread and wheat to the man of God. These were from the first part of the harvest, 20 loaves of barley and wheat. Elisha told him, “Give the loaves to these men that they may eat.”
His servant said to him, “How am I to divide these loaves among 100 men?” Elisha insisted, “Give them to the men that they may eat, for Yahweh says: They shall eat and have some left over.” So the man set it before them; and they ate and had some left, as Yahweh had said.
2nd Reading: Ephesians 4: 1-6
Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace. Let there be one body and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, who is above all and works through all and is in all.
Gospel: John 6: 1-15After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him because of the miraculous signs they saw when he healed the sick. So, he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there so the “Where shall we buy bread so people, about 5,000 men, sat that these people may eat?” down to rest. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”
So, they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with bread, that is with pieces of the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
When the people saw this sign that Jesus had just given, they said, “This is really the Prophet, he who is to come into the world.” Jesus realized that they would come and take him by force to make him king; so, he fled to the hills by himself.
Lectio Divina
Read: Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Because of his miracles, a huge crowd followed him. Jesus went up on the hill with his disciples. The Passover was at hand. Jesus saw the crowd. He asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed the people. Philip said that bread worth of 200 silver coins would not be enough. Andrew informed them of the boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. Out of this meager provision, Jesus fed all the people. There were 12 baskets of leftover food. The people recognized Jesus as the prophet. They wanted to make him a king so he fled to the hills by himself.
Reflect: The feeding of the multitudes is a familiar story. All the four evangelists reported the event (Mk. 6:34-44; 8:1-10; Mt. 14:13-21; 15:32-39; Lk. 9:10-17; Jn. 6:1-15). In John’s version, which is the Gospel for today, the people were able to recognize Jesus as the prophet. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as the prophet who always spoke the truth. We may reflect on our threefold mission: as king, priest and prophet. In many ways, we are comfortable with the kingly and priestly components of our mission but not with its prophetic component. After recognizing Jesus as the prophet, the people wanted to make him king but Jesus did not agree with their plan.
Pray: Let us pray that God will grant us courage to do prophetic mission.
Act: Let us teach our children of the evil of historical denialism.
