17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (John 6:1-15)

Gospel: John 6:1-15
Five loaves, two fish

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him because of the miraculous signs they saw when he healed the sick. So he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there so the people, about five thousand men, sat down to rest. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is with pieces of the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

When the people saw this sign that Jesus had just given, they said, “This is really the Prophet, he who is to come into the world.” Jesus realized that they would come and take him by force to make him king; so he fled to the hills by himself.

Reflection:

A simple theme of the gospel of today is about sharing. The best act of sharing depicted in the gospel is the child bringing the five loaves of bread and two fishes. His example tells us that instead of taking the food for himself and eat it alone and instead of running away, he gave it up. 

Here are other themes that we might extract from our gospel in the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time of July 29, 2012. 

1. The Eucharist - when Jesus prayed for the miracle 

2. Sacrifice - the boy's action

3. Obedience - when the people reclined

4. prayer - When asking for something from God, pray to him. Jesus did it himself.

5. Good Shepherd - a continuation of the previous Sunday's Gospel, which is about Jesus care for this disciples.