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“… Jesus welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed to be cured. The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here is a deserted place.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless we are to buy for all these people.’ For there were five thousand. And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Reflection
Years ago, when I and three others were leading a spiritual companion training program, we used this biblical passage emphasizing “you give them to eat” while reflecting on our call as people to enhance with others the spiritual life connection with God. It was deeply powerful.
A call of the Christian community living and acting in trust and with enough for all. This reflection in our training program is solid and invites us to expand our pondering of today’s passage and its application. Such a fitting story on this Corpus Christi Sunday.
This Lukan story has its roots in the Gospel of Mark who leans on earlier miracle story accounts. Some theologians suggest that Mark may have wanted to show the connection between the Eucharistic celebration, seen as a promised eschatological banquet, and Jesus, as the final prophet. In today’s Gospel, Luke simplifies the Markan source to a single emphasis. Luke’s focus is centered on the Eucharist as it pertains to the life of the contemporary community.
Jesus’ first actions were to speak to the crowd (of twelve thousand) about the Kingdom and to cure those in need of healing. Not getting into a hassle of having less and a need for buying more, Jesus then commanded them to gather the people to sit in groups. This expression of “groups” is only found in Luke and harkens back to its Greek meaning of table seating at a banquet. At a banquet, a community is brought together to celebrate and to share.
It is at the banquet, at their sitting in groups, that, for Luke, the true miracle happens. The miracle is the discovery of the presence of Jesus in the breaking of the bread. This presence of Jesus is the for the entire community. We see this as a connection to Eucharistic banquet and to the life of the community. It is the sharing of what is that is enough for the community in Jesus and is Jesus present.
What about the leftovers? This reference of the leftovers of broken bread being taken into twelve baskets is suggestive of the Church, the people of God in community, always coming about through the effective presence of God to them.
Action
In what way are you open to the presence of God in your life? What impact does the Eucharist have on you in your daily life? How do you serve and feed others as Jesus’ disciple?
Sister Barbara Sheehan, SP, a Sister of Providence since 1960, lives in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods after several years in Chicago, where she ministered as Executive Director/ACPE Supervisor of the Urban Clinical Pastoral Education Consortium, Inc. and as a spiritual director. She has extensive training not only in clinical pastoral supervision but also in care with those sexually abused, those challenged with mental illness and those suffering trauma. She has offered many workshops at regional, national and international conferences, is the author of Partner in Covenant: The Art of Spiritual Companionship and of numerous articles including one of her latest, Formation For Professional Practice: Addressing Social Hurts" in Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision in Ministry, Vol. 34 2014.
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Thank you for your reflection. I am now working through your
Closing thoughts about “the leftovers”. Thanks for lifting that up for us.