XVII - 17th - Sunday in Ordinary Time – B – July 25, 2021 2 Kings 4: 42-44 / Psalm 144 / Ephesians 4: 1-6 / John 6: 1-15
After proclaiming and listening to this reading so many times, it can be easy to fall into the same trap of only thinking of the miraculous nature of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes and giving them to several thousand people in one sitting. A great and miraculous sign? Certainly. An expression of love and concern of the Lord for the well-being for the people? Absolutely. A heavenly deed witnessed and experienced by a multitude? Again, yes.
However, in asking if it were a deed understood and sincerely appreciated by the same multitude, the same people, the answer would be, sadly, negative. This great miracle of Jesus narrated in the sixth chapter of the gospel according to John as well as included in the other gospels is one heavenly sign among many that the persons present do not appear to recognize in truth what is occurring much less the meaning of the deed. Each miracle of Christ was and is an expression of the love of God to demonstrate to them and us his kindness and closeness.
Lamentably, most of the people did not comprehend the true significance of that miraculous outpouring of generosity and the many other miracles of Jesus, but perhaps the greatest sadness is the lack of gratitude for it and other blessings from God’s providence.
Many people present were inclined and anxious to eat, but not as inclined to be truly nourished. They ate their fill and were satisfied in their bodily needs, but spiritually they remained mostly empty. They felt hunger pangs in their stomachs but did not seem to recognize nearly as well the suffering or emptiness in their souls. Perhaps many did not consider such a lack to be of serious concern and so did not know how to become satisfied in truth.
Noted spiritual author, Padre Ignacio Larrañaga, writes, “If there is thirst, there must exist a spring of water.” Following his thought, we hear, “If there is hunger, there must exist food and nourishment.” Moreover, if there exists a true hunger for God, there must exist the means to be nourished and satisfied.
The Lord gives us both the longing and the solution. However, the mere existence of a need is not sufficient. We must recognize it as a lack and an emptiness that demands a remedy and seek the source which – who - can truly help us.
Although in that moment Jesus responded in a manner that addressed the actual needs of the people, we must remember that sometimes his response is to take care of a lack or source of suffering which we have not perceived clearly and have not accepted as our true need. Sometimes we are the persons experiencing the deeper hunger and that we have lost the spiritual vision or understanding necessary for recognizing such a form of emptiness.
Being truly blessed is to receive what is just and necessary from God’s goodness; true happiness is recognizing our real needs that the Lord seeks to satisfy and thank him for his divine assistance and kindness.
Being a true disciple means to be attentive to what the good Lord does in our midst for our well-being and salvation and make a sincere effort to share such goodness to demonstrate our attentiveness to the needs and suffering of those around us.
May your true hunger be satisfied in Christ Jesus! Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.