BIBLE STUDY #100


SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

July 29, 2012



READING 1

2 KINGS 4:42-44



A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,

twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,

and fresh grain in the ear.

Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."

But his servant objected,

"How can I set this before a hundred people?"

Elisha insisted, "Give it to the people to eat."

"For thus says the LORD,

'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'"

And when they had eaten, there was some left over,

as the LORD had said.



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

EPHESIANS 4:1-6



Brothers and sisters:

I, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another through love,

striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:

one body and one Spirit,

as you were also called to the one hope of your call;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

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.



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



Many people follow Jesus because of the signs and wonders he has done. There is little indication that they understand the meaning of these signs and wonders. The gospels for the next 4 weeks will be from the 6th chapter of John, from a section called the bread of life discourse, where Jesus will attempt to explain the meaning of the miracle seen in today’s Gospel. Since there is no institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper in John, this chapter is John’s narrative on the Eucharist.



Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and sits on a mountain. Sitting is the stance of a teacher. A mountain is where God is revealed. This is a reference to Moses, who receives God’s Law on Mount Sinai in Exodus chapter 24. Jesus is the new and greater teacher. Moses passes on the Law given to him by God. Jesus teaches on his own authority as the Son of God. This passage takes place during Passover, setting the new Eucharistic teaching in the context of the Exodus event. In the Exodus event, God frees the people from bondage in Egypt and feeds them along the way. The saving action of Jesus death and resurrection and the giving of himself in the Eucharist frees us from the bondage of sin and death and feeds us along our pilgrim journey of life



Jesus “raising his eyes to heaven” is an action found only two other times in this gospel: Jesus praying at Lazarus tomb and in his prayer at the Last Supper. This is a special and exemplary prayer done before an important event. Jesus is showing us the importance of prayer in our lives.



Jesus is concerned with their need for nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Where were they going to find food on a mountain, presumably a deserted place? Philip was from this area, and he was exasperated at being asked to find food for so many people. Andrew brings a boy to Jesus who has five loaves and 2 fish, but he says what good is this for so many? None of the Apostles understand Jesus. They had been with Jesus, seen some his mighty works (called ‘signs’ in this gospel), but didn’t even consider the possibility that Jesus could do a mighty work in this instance. It’s not until Pentecost that the disciples begin to understand.



In the other 3 gospels, Jesus says the blessing, breaks the bread, and then gives the bread to the apostles to distribute. In John’s gospel, Jesus gave thanks (from which we get the word ‘Eucharist’) and then distributes the bread and fish himself. Either way, we are reminded of the prayers the priest prays at mass during the consecration, in which the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. This is a reminder to us of God giving manna in the desert (Exodus 16). In the next 4 weeks, we will hear more of Jesus as the bread of life come down from heaven, a further explanation of John’s idea of Eucharist.



The 12 baskets of bread remaining after all had eaten shows us how abundant God is with his love and care for us. God provides for our needs. He feeds us with his love so we can feed others. He doesn’t give us everything we want, but everything we need.



The people believe in Jesus as a prophet; he is, but more than just a prophet. He is a prophet in the sense of Moses, since he comes to teach us God’s will. With Moses, God gave the people manna to sustain them on their journey to the Promised Land. With Jesus, we get the gift of the Eucharist to sustain us on our spiritual journey to the Promised Land of eternal life. The people want to make him king in a worldly sense. Ironically, he is already a king, but in the spiritual realm, and hopefully the king of our lives.



This story tells us that whenever we give everything we have, God will transform our gifts into something much larger to benefit everybody. God works through us to build up the kingdom.



We can see the similarities of the first reading and the Gospel. Elisha foreshadows Jesus actions of feeding the crowds. Elisha is fulfilling the role of prophet and king, since a king’s job was to look after the welfare of the people. In both readings, God works through poor people to bring his abundant love to the world.



The second reading form Ephesians is from a section of this book dedicated to Christian unity. Christians have been fashioned by the Spirit into a single body, the church, belonging to a single Lord (pagans had more than one god), who are baptized into this one body and are saved through faith. Unity is more than shared faith; it is using our gifts to serve the community, gifts that were given by Christ, the source of the church’s spiritual gifts. Christ is the head of the church due to his death and resurrection.





Fr. Phil