17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

2 Kgs 4:42-44; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15

After the Sunday morning Mass, a little boy approached the priest and said, “Father, when I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”

“Wonderful, thank you,” the priest replied, “but why?”

“Because when you delivered your sermon I heard my dad saying you are the poorest preacher this church has ever had.”

(The story is from an unknown author)

Bible commentators would love to highlight the significant role of the little boy in the story of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of five thousand people. The Lord and his disciples were figuring out where to find food for the hungry crowd. It was Andrew who noticed the boy with five barley loaves and two fish. Scholars tell us that this boy must have come from a poor family because rich people during Jesus’ time normally eat bread made of wheat, not of barley. The poor boy, however, had a generous heart because he readily shared his loaves and fish. Most likely, there were many others in the crowd who brought food with them but were unwilling to share. The boy with a rich heart saved the day; he made the miracle of the multiplication of loaves possible.

Jesus took the few loaves and fish, gave thanks to his Father in heaven, and started to distribute them to the people. All had eaten and were satisfied. In the end, the disciples were able to gather twelve wicker baskets of leftovers from the five loaves and two fish. This wonderful story reminds us that with God’s blessings, the small thing that we share will go a long, long way to help the poor. Oftentimes, we are hindered to help not because we are selfish and compassionless, but because we think our help would hardly make any difference at all. And yet, the gospel tells us that if we translate our compassion to positive action, the little that we can give will be multiplied by God in such a way that there will be more than enough to fill the need. All that Jesus asks of us to feed the hungry people of the world is our “five loaves and two fish.”

“Gather the fragments of leftover, so that nothing will be wasted,” Jesus told his disciples. Those of us who are enjoying abundance of food and material possessions should take the Lord’s advice seriously. Let us not be wasteful. Let us buy and keep only what is essential for life. Throwing food products in the garbage is an outright scandal because thousands of people in different parts of the globe are dying of hunger every second of the day.

Today, a lot of people are hungry, sad and afraid. As Christians, we have to ask ourselves: Is there a person in the world who became less hungry because of our presence? Is there somebody in our neighborhood who became less depressed because we are there? Is there anyone in our place who became less insecure because of our company?

One night at bedtime, a successful and God-fearing businessman was praying with his son. He began by saying, “Son, let us pray for that poor man who lives down the road, that the good Lord may come to his aid.”

His son turned to him and replied, “Dad, we don't need to bother God about that. We can do it ourselves!”

(The story is from an unknown author)