Numbers and Signs

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:1-15.

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.

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Reflection

Numbers run the risk of limiting value. This beautiful episode from John is a parable of the great things that Jesus can do with the little good that we can offer. Numbers pepper the story, detailing the need and urgency of the moment. Jesus, who knew the need but also has the situation in control, have to remind his disciples that faith goes beyond numbers.

It may be a story of generosity, or a story of how God can multiply what we offer but it is also a reminder that Jesus as the Prophet promised of old has more than enough to meet our needs. When Jesus feeds, He feeds to the full. He is not one who magically multiplies food, but in the same way that he takes, gives thanks, and distributes food in the Eucharistic Meal, He gives Himself as the Sign of God’s love.

People who saw the numbers saw the prophet who could do wonders but mistook the message. We who see the Sign, received and believed, sees Jesus the God-man who gives Himself that we may want for nothing. He exceeds in value to what we can count in numbers. Jesus does not work with numbers, He works in self-giving.

The Deserted Places

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:30-34.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught. 
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” 
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat. 
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. 
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. 
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

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Reflection

They were doing so well it was overwhelming. The apostles who were sent to share in the mission of Jesus were filled with joy at what they had accomplished through Jesus’ authority. Even with the great good they have done, more still was left to be desired. People were coming and going in great numbers they did not even have the time to eat.

Jesus asked His apostles to retreat to a “deserted place” in the midst of all these activities. Even Jesus recognized that working for the Kingdom must be matched with a well-deserved rest. Deserts in the Bible are always places of encounter with God. The silence and solitude of the desert leads one to focus on the one thing necessary in the Kingdom.

When we begin to think that Christian life is all about doing works of charity, let this Gospel reading remind us of the more important thing. Christian life, as stressed by Jesus, is all about encountering God first. We have to be aware of where our deserted places are, so that from time to time, even in the midst of incessant activity, we can retreat and recharge in God. So that having encountered God in our desert, we too, like Jesus, return to the mission, hearts ready to be moved and limbs reading to take on the task of leading and teaching people towards their own deserted places.

Summoned and Sent

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:7-13.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic. 
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. 
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.” 
So they went off and preached repentance. 
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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Reflection

In Jesus company of disciples, a smaller group of twelve have always earned the reverence of the rest. Here mentioned as the “Twelve”, they were summoned and sent out by Jesus two-by-two in order to share in His ministry. Jesus was a leader who delegates that the task of spreading the Kingdom of God might benefit from the concerted efforts of many. This is not a sample case of the multiplier effect, however, but the summary of Christian life.

We all have been summoned to Jesus side. From our baptism to our Sunday celebrations of the Holy Mass, we are summoned time and time again to renew our relationship with Him, to receive instruction from Him, so as to share in His authority. Ours is not a mission, but a co-mission. We are summoned to Jesus, and share in Jesus, so that we may spread Jesus.

The idea of repentance is not limited to being sorry for one’s sins. In its original Greek meaning, it refers to a change of heart, and mind, and personhood. The Twelve were sent to preach repentance: of spreading Jesus’ words and works so that those who receive them may become more and more like Jesus. This constitutes Christian life. We become more and more like Christ, by answering His summons, listening to His words, and sharing in His works.

Open to Surprises and Gifts

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:1-6.

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. 
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished. 
They said, “Where did this man get all this? 
What kind of wisdom has been given him? 
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?” 
And they took offense at him. 
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.” 
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

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Reflection

Jesus’ statement, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house,” is one of the most famous and quoted. Working prophetic signs and uttering prophetic words, Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith from His own people, the very people who knew Him most. They thought they knew Him as He grew up in their midst, but the wonders that Jesus was doing and saying simply broke through their calcified image of their neighbor. They could not take that Jesus was breaking through their preconceived ideas of Him.

Perhaps, the people from Jesus’ town were already comfortable with their images of their neighbors that anyone who tries to go beyond the comfortable levels are looked upon with suspicion. Even with Jesus’ miracles they then refused to believe. Their lack of openness led to a lack of faith.

Many of us fall into the same mistake of putting people into our own mental boxes and labelling them, stacking them up in our garage of biases. We even fall into the mistake of putting God into a box and expecting Him to act according to our own image of Him. But people and God are mysteries who will always challenge our measures. Persons, both our neighbors and God, are gifts that we continually peel-off layers of wonders. Our Gospel reminds us today to be open: open to people, open to God, and open to surprises.