Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

"Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."

 

Gospel Reading: 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.

 

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus has been teaching the crowds and he has developed quite a following. It was the feast of Passover and Jesus realizing that the crowd hungered, decided he needed to feed them. To test his disciples, Jesus said to Phillip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Andrew indicated that there was a small boy with five loaves and two fish; “but what are these for so many.” Jesus takes the small insignificant amount of food, blesses the food and feeds the crowd. The abundance of his gift overflows into the crowd. After they had eaten their filled, Jesus had them gather up the fragments. They gathered twelve baskets of fragments from the five barley loaves. When we hunger and long for Christ, the same thing happens to us. The small longing to experience Christ grows into an overflowing of life. When we hunger for the Word of God, our lives are filled to excess with Christ. In this story, Jesus took the little bit they had and through the glory and power of the Holy Spirit, multiplied the bounty. They were filled until they could eat no more. Christ is the true bread of life. In Him, we find the true nourishment which satisfies our spiritual needs. The Passover was the time when the lamb of God came to protect the Israelites. Now the Lamb of God was again feeding the masses. He is the source of all we need. His generosity is unending. He has enough to feed everyone with an abundance left over. It is time to reach out to the Word of God and be nourished.  The Eucharist which we receive at Mass is a sign of his ever abundant love and generosity.  It is his outpouring that continues to nourish our souls.  This week, when you receive the Eucharist, remember God’s abundance which is continually poured out for us.  

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord Christ, you are the bread of life.

You are the source of spiritual food.

Let me hear the Word of God

to the point that I overflow with the Holy Spirit.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon