2015/07/26 — 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Edited

As I indicated when we reached Masses for Ordinary Time, the gospel readings from Mark give way to selections from the sixth chapter of John. Last Sunday we just reached the point in Mark where Jesus was about to preform the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Instead of Mark's account, today we get the account of the miracle from John, and this will be followed by four selections from the Bread of Life Discourse in John 6.


We start with an Old Testament miracle of multiplication of bread — 2 Kings 4:42-44. The prophet Elisha feeds 100 people with twenty barley loaves. An important detail is that these barley loaves are made from the first fruits — the grain that is to be offered to the Lord (Leviticus 23:9-17).This places the event in the context of Passover and Pentecost. That it is a miracle is shown by the words of Elisha's servant, objecting that the twenty loaves can't possibly feed 100 people.


Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18 invites us to be thankful to God for providing for our needs and to praise his goodness and glory.


The gospel — John 6:1-15 — picks up where last Sunday's reading from Mark had brought us: a large crowd comes to Jesus. Jesus is teaching his disciples — sitting was the posture for one who teaches. Then he sees the crowd, and, as in Mark, he is concerned for them.The dialogue with Philip and Andrew establishes the miraculous nature of the event. As in the first reading, there are barley loaves, and this is in the context of Passover — a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do at the Last Supper, and of what he will tell the people about the meaning of the sign he performs here. The action of Jesus in giving thanks and distributing the bread prefigures his action at the Last Supper. The fact that there is enough for everybody is like the Eucharist: when we receive Jesus' body and blood, we do not diminish its availability to others.

The superabundance is a sign of the coming of the Messianic age, which was to be marked by great plenty — Messianic abundance.


Paul — Ephesians 4:1-6 — reminds his hearers of the ground of the unity which is theirs and which they must cultivate: one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father. We could add — one Eucharist, unless that is what one body means. I think the body is the Church, but then the Church is the Body of Christ, as in the Eucharist. God has made us one, but we have to preserve that unity through the virtues of humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

The unity of believers still exists at a fundamental level because of our baptism into the body of Christ and our faith that Jesus is Lord; but it is far from what it should be, because of our disagreements and our institutional separations. Seeking greater unity is an important task, and it will require the virtues Paul calls for. When we can share the sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood with one another, that is, when we are "in full communion" with one another, the unity will be complete. But it needs to grow until we reach that point, as our love, understanding, and respect increase.


Edited to add:  "The Prophet" referred to in John 6:14 probably means the one promised by God in Deuteronomy 18:15-18, where God promises to send a prophet like Moses to lead the people, one whom they must heed. This promise may have been part of the Messianic expectation of the people of Jesus' time. (There could also be an allusion to Malachi 3:1.) If this is what the people meant when they identified Jesus as the prophet, they were right, but their expectation of a political/military Messiah who would drive out the Romans was wrong, so Jesus had to escape in order to avoid being made part of an uprising.