The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs

2 Kgs 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.

Eph 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.

Jn 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 readings for today are about miraculous abundance; where there was little, now there is much. Both the First Reading and Gospel speak of looking forward; There is a need and behold, something is distributed for satisfaction.

We pray these days for His presence in our times of need. We can pray and let what we consider small and insignificant to be placed in His hands and distributed to those in need. We can pray knowing of God’s abundance in being faithful, provident and nourishing in our lives.

Elisha is a “holy man” and, in the chapter from which our First Reading is taken, is on a roll. He has promised that a woman who has welcomed him often to her house will have a longed-for child. He has cured another child and provided needed oil for a widow and her sons to use and sell.

The story right before our reading is quite interesting too. Elisha went back to his home and there was a great famine there. His fellow prophets were sitting around hungry. Elisha asked some servants to make a soup for them all. The servant went out and while gathering herbs picked a wild vine which he put in the soup. Upon eating some, they all began to experience sickness because of the poison herb. Elisha ordered that some grains be brought and he threw them in the pot and all was well.

Today we hear of a multiplication of twenty barley loaves to feed one hundred people suffering from the famine. He has to insist that his servant take the loaves and share them even though they do not appear to be enough. Elisha promises that there will be more than enough and there will be leftovers as God has promised. Elisha had received his blessing from God and walked around sharing it in plenty. With today’s Gospel we learn that Jesus, being the Bread of Life, is both the Provider and the provided. The crowd has followed Jesus and the apostles to a deserted place and the journey there has rendered them hungry. All heck is about to breakout if something isn’t done. The apostles don’t have enough money to buy for this crowd so that each could have even a little bit. There is a tension. They have only five loaves and two fish, “what are these among so many?”

Five thousand people reclined and had their fill of bread and fish, so there were fragments to be collected. Because of this sign of abundance, the people wanted to promote Him as King so that they would never have to search for satisfaction and fullness again. Jesus, though, slipped away and left them to experience a different type of hunger, a hunger for His continued presence. He is nourishing, available, familiar, and a reminder of the abiding gift of manna when the Israelites were wandering in the desert. I think I can relate to this type of hunger when I miss Mass or especially the Eucharist, which is also a miracle of multiplication that feeds and nourishes me in my daily life.

There will be more of the image of “bread” in weeks to come. I am moved to ponder briefly the mention of the lad who had the five loaves and two fish. “What are these among so many”? Jesus takes the lad’s meager provisions and does something great with them.

I was thinking that the five loaves and two fish are like our prayers. Jesus takes our offering. He then answers those prayers and adds a “dash” of mercy to (we hope) bring us into His presence. We have to remember that even after we realize that He has answered our prayers, we must continue to pray or “gather the fragments, so that nothing will be wasted”. He will use them to nourish others who may not yet know they need His help.

The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.