Reflection 4/24/20: Five + Two = Provided:

Today’s Gospel reading from John is the story of Jesus feeding the people on the other side of the Sea of Galilee with only five barley loaves and two fish.  Like you, I can picture in my mind the Lord standing in front of the people who are all sitting on the grass on the side of the hill.  I can almost hear him asking the Philip where they were going to buy bread to feed the multitude of people, and likewise, the panic in the voice of Philip and the other disciples, who are already convinced that this is impossible.  I can see Jesus smirk a little bit when he takes the bread and fish from the boy as if to say “now watch this.”

This Gospel has always been one of my very favorites because it shows the ability of Jesus to provide in anyway at any time.  I think what is most telling from today’s Gospel is that the Lord asked Philip about the bread because “for he himself knew what he was going to do.”  Make no mistake, God knows at ALL TIMES what He is going to do but allows us to be part of the process.  Today, we are faced with seemingly an unexplained and uncertain time in our lives with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Many people in today’s world, just as the disciples in today’s Gospel, have forgotten our Lord’s ability to provide in any situation. 

The Gospel highlights Jesus’s intent not only then, but still today.  Jesus intended to feed ALL the people that were there that day just as he intends to take care of us.  We need to have the same intent with our faith that He will do that very thing.  Throughout this pandemic, there has been fear, confusion, and anxiety all swirling around the unknown.  Wouldn’t it make sense to focus our attention on the one truth above all other truths that we do know?  Jesus knows what He is going to do and, although we may not understand it, we need to respond the way the disciples did, and follow Him.

My second favorite part to today’s Gospel is the extent to which God provided: “Gather up the fragments left over so that nothing may be lost. So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five loaves left, they filled twelve baskets.”  God isn’t going to provide for us “just enough”.  God will provide so much that we can live off of the left-overs!  Know this; we are the people on the hill who have gathered to see Him.  We are sitting there, unsure, uncertain, and hungry and at this moment, Jesus is asking us the question because “He Himself knows what He is going to do.”

 

He WILL provide.

 

Mr. Swann – Principal

Our Lady of Mount Carmel