Once again, we are given a glimpse of the compassionate heart of Jesus in today’s gospel. Earlier Jesus gives up his much-needed rest to teach the crowd upon seeing them like sheep without a shepherd. Now, moved with the same pity, Jesus inquires from his apostles where to find food to feed the people. Philip argues against the possibility of buying food for a crowd of five thousand in the middle of a deserted place. Meanwhile, Andrew introduces a boy with five barley loaves of bread and two fish, although he himself is skeptical how the meager supply could help.
Jesus then asks the people to recline on the grass as he takes the loaves in his hands, blesses and distributes them. He does likewise with the two fish. After everyone is filled and satisfied, Jesus asks his apostles to gather the leftovers. They collect and gather twelve wicker baskets of extra loaves.
Allow me to share three simple reflections on our gospel reading today.
First, God appreciates every contribution, however little, that comes from a generous heart. He receives it, blesses it, and multiplies it for the benefit of many. Jesus is able to feed five thousand people from the five loaves and two fish of the generous giver, who is not only a mere boy, but a poor one at that (barley is the poor man’s bread).
Indeed, we often find more generosity among those who have little than from those who have much. Once Mother Teresa was surprised to learn that the pack of rice she gave to a poor Hindu woman was divided and shared with a Moslem neighbor. When asked why she did it, the Hindu woman replied that her Moslem neighbor was also a poor mother with many children like herself.
Second, God is not only generous (an understatement); he is lavish and even extravagant. Often, he gives more than we need. The story of Elisha (first reading) and our gospel clearly bear this out. Even after everyone has had their fill, there remains an abundance of extra bread. Sometimes I wonder why this is so. My guess is that God provides us with extra so we can share it with others. It is interesting to note that many of our body organs come in pair, like our lungs and kidneys. Yet we only need one of them to live. (Pope Francis lives on one lung). Could we have been given a spare one so we can donate it to someone who needs it? Just wondering.
Third, Jesus asks his apostles to gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted. Time was when we believed everything we have is grace and hence something sacred to be valued and not to be wasted. At meals, our parents would insist to finish our food and leave nothing on the plate. We were warned never to throw food away lest we incur “gaba” from the One who provides.
How much time has changed! Today we live in a throwaway culture where everything is easily disposable. And true enough, we have also incurred the “gaba” not from God but from ourselves. Much of the great calamities and disasters we now experience do not come from God but are of our own making. (Think of the recent floods; they we not caused by divine ire, but by our clogged drainages and “reclaimed” shorelines.) We have been irresponsible and selfish stewards of the great gift of God’s creation by persistently polluting the air, land and sea. And today, the environment throws back to us our own wastes with vengeance.
Sadly, this throwaway culture has affected not only our relationship with nature but also our relationship with one another. Babies are conveniently aborted when they are deemed unwanted or cause some complication in life. Divorce is quickly invoked at the least marital crisis. In such culture, people have become simply expendable.
I once read a post on Facebook about a couple who were asked how they managed to stay together for 65 years. The woman replied, “We were born in a time where if something was broken, we fixed it… rather than throw it away.”