Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time/B
Massimo Palombella
In today’s Gospel (Jn 6:1-15) Jesus feeds the large crowd that came to him.
It is interesting to note the manner in which the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes takes place. In fact, it is a simple boy who allows this miracle to take place by offering his only five barley loaves and two fish.
In that context, the logic of the apostle Philip, who immediately quantifies the expenditure of two hundred dinars to feed the crowd, does not work, it is not effective for Jesus who, instead, performs the miracle through apparently insignificant instances: one boy, five loaves, two fish.
All of this involves us deeply because, when faced with the great choices of life such as getting married, being a father, a mother, entering the seminary, acceding to an existential, professional challenge, immediately, and imperceptibly, like Philip we look for the ‘two hundred dinars’.
Basically, we wait until we are mature enough to get married, to have a child, to enter the seminary, we wait until we have the right competences, the right experience to accept a challenge.
But, the ‘two hundred dinars’ we will never have, we will never be mature enough for marriage, parenthood, to be a priest, to face challenges. We will only be rich in our five loaves and two fishes, in our poverty, weaknesses, incapabilities and fears, of which, perhaps, we are even a little ashamed.
Yet, it is with these five loaves and two fish that the Lord feeds a crowd, it is with this nothingness that he leads us to be the persons we can be.
It is with our poverty accepted, delivered, no longer avoided and hidden from us and from others, that the Lord can lead us to be the husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the priest, the professional we never thought we could be.
The Lord is waiting for us in truth, with no more defences, no more plans and strategies, to slowly lead us to ‘life in abundance’.
The Communion antiphon for today’s celebration is taken from the third chapter of the Book of Proverbs (Prov 3:9, 10) with the following text:
‘Honora Dominum de tua substantia, et de primitiis frugum tuarum:
ut impleantur horrea tua saturitate, et vino torcularia redundabunt.’
(Honour the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then shall your barns be filled with abundance, and your presses shall run over with wine).
The attached music, in Gregorian Chant, is taken from the Gradual Triplex published in Solesmes in 1979. The music track can be found on YouTube where there are no indications of interpretation.
A blessed Sunday and heartfelt greetings.
