Gospel of John, Chapter 6:11

If you have any feel for the economy today, you know that we are in a crisis. Times are rough and budgets are tight. During times like these, we tend to look a little closer to home to become a little tight ourselves with what we share. Today’s Scripture celebrates the wonderful ability of Jesus to “make do”; to find enough to share. In times like ours, it is a good time to take a hint from today’s Scripture: and to know that, no matter what, there is always enough to share if we have the will.

In the Sixth Chapter of St. John’s Gospel, we find Jesus prepping the people, to receive the deeper message on the bread of life that will follow. Jesus feeds the multitude, and Jesus feeds us spiritually. He teaches us what “sharing” really is.

John’s Gospel on the feeding of the multitude is set in a Eucharistic context (“The Jewish Feast of Passover was Near”). The story of the multiplication of the loaves, a forerunner of the Eucharist, which John’s Christian readers would be celebrating regularly is a prologue to the spiritual food Jesus will give those who follow Him: His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Mother’s have always been able to multiply the family’s food, to stretch a meal to accommodate one or more at the table. In large extended families, Mom’s magic comes in might handy as she prepares the table for many mouths to feed. Have you ever noticed that the poor are most hospitable, sharing the little they have with one another? Poor families teach us this. I never cease to be inspired by the Mexican families in our parish who will have a fiesta at the drop of a hat, and everyone brings something. They share because they are shareholders of the fiesta for one another. Shareholders, not for profit, but in the spirit of helping one another.

These shareholders teach us the necessity and the joy of sharing whatever little we have. All the qualities Jesus talks about are born of sharing: sharing hopes, dreams, burdens, and joys, sharing life with one another. “By this, people will know you are my disciples: By your love for one another.” (Jn. 13:35)

Share the things of life. Soon you will see that you are sharing the very essence of life, yourself. This is the gift a Mother shares with her family. This is the miracle Jesus shares with us in today’s Scripture.

Now is a good time to read, in its entirety, the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. The teaching of Jesus contained in this Chapter is very profound, and it makes sense to give it time to sink in. Jesus satisfies our physical hunger by showing us how to share our food with one another; and He satisfies our spiritual hunger by giving us Himself in the Eucharist.

Fr. Hugh Duffy