Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This gospel of the multiplication of the loaves and fish help us to see how the Lord continues to feed and nourish us, as he did throughout the Easter Season. This miracle is recorded in all four gospels and shows us a primitive kerygma, a preaching, of the early Church. The compassion and mercy of Jesus stands out as well as the apostles as the priests of the New Covenant, acting as other Christs.
Any good Jew would have heard the words of Psalm 23 ringing in his ears at this miracle: ‘The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want. He leads me in verdant pastures and gives me repose.’ Now it is not a metaphor but a reality: real grass, real food, and a place to rest. What does Jesus ask them to do? He only invites them to sit in groups of fifty and to be disposed to receive something. That is all he asks of us today: be open, receive a Word of God today; he asks nothing more.
The people make a very modest contribution and it is transformed and multiplied. Elisha feed one hundred men on twenty loaves of bread. Today Jesus feeds one thousand people on one loaf, and there is one basket of leftovers for each apostle; there is infinitely more than enough. God acts this way.
Jesus looks up to heaven, blesses (and says, ‘Blessed are you Father, Lord of all creation, we offer you all we have’) and gives his life to this meager food. Then he breaks it signifying his broken body given for us; the multiplication cannot take place until the bread is broken.
Then he passes the bread to the apostles; they are the executers of this miracle, even though they do not understand it. The miracle is done in the distribution of the food by the apostles. The more that is given out, the more there is. Jesus works through them and he wants to work through us. He needs their cooperation. God chooses to work through man, and to save with the cooperation of man. There is nothing magical about this gospel. The multiplication happens very simply; it is understated to the extreme.
At the end of the gospel Jesus returns to pray. He came from prayer to serve the others, and now he returns. It shows us two fundamental things about him. He is uncompromising in his mission to do good, to heal and feed and extend his compassion. And his natural element is communion with the Father. Both aspects of his life are fundamental for him. Let us hope that we can do the same.