Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B July 29, 2018

First Reading
2 Kings 4:42-44
Elisha the prophet feeds 100 people with 20 barley loaves.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 145:10-11,15-16,17-18
The Lord feeds his people and answers their needs.

Second Reading
Ephesians 4:1-6
The Ephesians are encouraged to live the unity of their Baptism.

Gospel Reading
John 6:1-15
Jesus feeds the crowd of more than five thousand people with five barley
loaves and two fish.


Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
"Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little."
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people recline."
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted."
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.


Background on the Gospel Reading

Through most of Lectionary Cycle B, our Sunday Gospel readings are taken
from the Gospel of Mark. Over the past two Sundays, we heard how Jesus
sent his disciples to share in his mission. If we were to continue reading
Mark's Gospel, we would next hear his report of how Jesus feeds the crowds
in the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Our
Lectionary, however, leaves Mark's Gospel for the next several weeks and
instead presents this event from the Gospel of John. In John's Gospel,
Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and the fishes is presented as a sign
of his authority and divinity. Jesus interprets the meaning and
significance of this miracle as a sharing of his Body and Blood. This
chapter is sometimes called the "Bread of Life Discourse."

In many important ways, John's Gospel uses the miracle of the
multiplication of the loaves and fishes to teach about the Eucharist. Like
the Last Supper, this miracle is said to have occurred near the time of
the Jewish feast of Passover. (In John's Gospel three Passovers are
identified.) Jesus' language is similar to the language he used at the
Last Supper as reported in the Synoptic Gospels. John's description of
this event also anticipates the Messianic banquet of heaven, as the crowd
reclines and all hungers are satisfied with abundance. This connection is
further amplified by the response of the crowd, who wants to make Jesus a
king. John is teaching us that each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we
are anticipating the eternal banquet of heaven.

Recall that John's Gospel tells the story of the Last Supper differently
than the Synoptic Gospels. Instead of describing the meal and Jesus'
actions with the bread and cup, John describes how Jesus washed his
disciples' feet. We hear this Gospel when we remember the Last Supper on
Holy Thursday. This recollection of Jesus' action at the Last Supper
complements the institution narrative of the Synoptic Gospels and Paul's
Letters that we hear repeated at each Mass.

In both stories about the Eucharist—the washing of the disciples' feet and
the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes—the Gospel of John teaches
us that the Eucharist is an action. Our word Eucharist is taken from the
Greek language and describes an action: "to give thanks." In the Eucharist
we are fed by Jesus himself, and we are sent to serve others.

John's Gospel notes the detail that the bread blessed and shared with the
crowd are barley loaves. This is the food of the poor. It reminds us that
God feeds and nourishes us, fulfilling our physical needs as well as our
spiritual ones. In the Eucharist, we are sent to serve the poorest among
us.

The story of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes recalls a
particular aspect of the Mass. In this miracle, Jesus transforms a young
boy's offering of five barley loaves and two fish. In the offertory at
Mass, we present the fruits of our labors, represented by bread and wine.
These gifts, given to us first by God as grain and fruit, are returned to
God in our offering of thanksgiving. God in turn transforms our gifts,
making this bread and wine the very Body and Blood of Jesus. We also offer
ourselves in this exchange, and we, too, are transformed by the Eucharist.


Family Connection

Parents may sympathize with the disciples' protests when Jesus asks Philip
where food might be found for the crowd. In the responses of both Philip
and Andrew, we hear feelings of inadequacy as they survey their limited
resources in the face of such great need. We may sometimes share these
feelings about our own material possessions or our emotional and spiritual
resources in the face of our family's needs. This is a Gospel of hope for
these times, which are all too frequent in parenting and family life. As
Jesus made the five barley loaves and two fish sufficient to more than
meet the needs of over five thousand people, Jesus will also work with
what we have to provide for our family's needs. When we offer our efforts
to God, we ask him to transform them so that they will be more than
adequate to the tasks and needs before us.As you gather as a family, talk
together about the things that your family needs, starting with the
basics—food, shelter, safety, and so on. Continue by naming other things
that a family needs to be happy and healthy—time together, cooperation,
patience, and so on. Observe that sometimes we can feel like we don't have
enough of the things that we need or want. Read together today's Gospel,
John 6:1-15. Talk about how Jesus provided plenty of food for the crowd
with just five barley loaves and two fish. We have faith that Jesus will
also take what we have and make it enough to satisfy and fill all our
needs. We ask for this blessing when we offer to God the work of each day
in prayer in the Morning Offering. Pray together the Morning Offering,
asking God to bless and make fruitful the work of each of our days.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings