Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 28th 2024- 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 28th 2024, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:1-15

Without a doubt the miracle of the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ is one of the most iconic moments in the Gospels. All four Gospels tell the story. In fact, apart from the Resurrection it is the only miracle story found in all four Gospels. This alone shows us the importance of his story to the early Christian communities.  
Today’s version of the story is taken from John’s Gospel, the last Gospel to be written and by far the most reflective and theological. I remember reading once that not one single word of John’s Gospel is there by accident. Every word has meaning, adding layer upon layer of commentary and interpretation to what Jesus said and did.  
It comes as a surprise to many, therefore, that John makes no mention of the Eucharist in his account of the Last Supper. John’s version of the Last Supper is quite different to the other three Gospels – those of Matthew, Mark and Luke, usually called the ‘synoptic’ Gospels because they are so alike. They give a ‘synopsis’ of Jesus’ life and message. In the synoptic Gospels, the Last Supper is the Jewish celebration of Passover. In John’s Gospel, the Last Supper happens the day before Passover. Likewise, in the synoptic Gospels, the focus of the Last Supper is on the institution of the Eucharist. In John’s Gospel, the focus is on Jesus washing his disciple’s feet, and there is no mention of bread and wine.  
So why would John, whose every word is so carefully chosen, leave out an act as central to our faith as the Eucharist?    

The answer to that question, I think, is found in this Sunday’s Gospel. Look carefully, and in the Gospel you will find the following sentence: “Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he  distributed them to those who were seated; So also with the fish, as much as they wanted.”  
Where else do we find this same formula of words? Yes, at the Last Supper. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul who talks about the Last Supper in his first letter to the Corinthians, all use the same words: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples…”  
Since nothing in John’s Gospel is there by accident, there can be no doubt that in this miracle of ‘Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand’ John is talking about the Eucharist. Indeed, it might be truer to say that this miracle IS John’s version of the Eucharist.  
At first glance, this might seem strange. We are so accustomed to associating the Eucharist with Holy Thursday and the Last Supper that anything else just seems wrong. I am not suggesting that Jesus did not institute the Eucharist at the Last Supper, it is indeed more than likely that he did. What I am suggesting is that for Matthew, Mark and Luke the ‘where’ and ‘when’ was important. John’s interest was much more in ‘what Jesus meant’ by the words.  
Put simply, while the synoptic Gospels tell us what happened, John tells us the meaning of what happened. And, once we make the link between John’s telling of this miracle with the Eucharist, the meaning we find there is truly amazing.  
Just for a few moments, then, I invite you to leave the Upper Room and the Last Supper behind. In our mind’s eye, let’s join Jesus, John and the others on the grassy hillside by the lake as we witness the miracle of Jesus ‘Feeding the Five Thousand’, John’s account of the first Eucharist.  

Before beginning, we must be absolutely certain that John did have the Eucharist in mind when he was recounting this miracle. We have already seen that the formula of words used by Jesus in this miracle is the same as that used at the Last Supper. This formula of words is summarised as “…take, bless, break, give…” and wherever we come across Jesus ‘taking, blessing, breaking, giving bread… we can be sure we are talking about the Eucharist. We see the formula again, for instance, on the ‘Road to Emmaus’ when Jesus went in to eat with the two travellers.  
However, in case there is the slightest doubt in your mind that John is thinking about the Eucharist when he writes his account of this miracle, there is one other small detail included in John’s account of the miracle which differs from the other three Gospels, and it is this: In Matthew, Mark and Luke when Jesus has given thanks and broken the bread he gives it to his disciples to distribute to the crowd. However, in John’s version of the story, it is Jesus himself who distributes the bread and fish: “…when he had given thanks, he distributed them (the broken loaves) to those who were seated; So also with the fish, as much as they wanted.”   

This detail is important because at the Last Supper when Jesus said, “This is my body, given for you…” we are told it was Jesus himself who gave the bread to his disciples. John is very intentionally framing his account of the miracle to parallel the Last Supper.  

So, having satisfied ourselves that it is truly the Eucharist John is talking about in his telling of this miracle, let’s briefly look at what John believes this miracle tells us about the meaning of Eucharist.    

In the ministry of Jesus, gathering for a meal was hugely important and very often the forum he used to teach about the Kingdom of God. It is not surprising then, that we find Jesus using the Last Supper – a meal – as the forum for instituting the Eucharist.  
It is also understandable that Matthew, Mark and Luke frame the Last Supper as the Passover meal. The ‘Passover’ was the final meal Moses and his people ate together before they fled Egypt and started their long journey to becoming ‘The People of Israel’ – God’s ‘Chosen People’.  
It makes perfect sense that Matthew, Mark and Luke, saw Jesus as the ‘new’ Moses and the Last Supper as the ‘new’ Passover – the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples before he began his journey of sacrifice, a journey which ended with the Resurrection and the ushering-in of the Kingdom of God.  
For John, the Last Supper was Jesus’ great act of humility and service (washing his disciples’ feet) and was not about the Eucharist. Therefore, in John’s Gospel, the Last Supper was not the Passover meal.   
However, as we look at John’s account of the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ we find a statement not found in any of the other accounts of the miracle: “…the Jewish Passover Festival was near.”  
John very intentionally wishes this miracle (his Eucharist) to be seen as a meal that is very like the Passover meal.  

Clearly, the most striking difference between the Last Supper as Eucharist and the Feeding of the Five Thousand as Eucharist is the number of people attending. Whereas the Last Supper was a small, intimate, family-like gathering of friends to share a meal, the Feeding of the Five Thousand was just that; a gathering of a large number of people – men, women, children, Jews and maybe even some non-Jews.  
John shows us a large crowd of people searching for, and finding, Jesus, all of them wanting to listen to him. Jesus gathers them together, teaches them about the coming Kingdom of God, then invites them to share a meal with him. At this meal Jesus “takes, blesses, breaks and gives” bread and fish to them to eat.  
Looking at that description again, it is very difficult to read John’s account of this miracle as anything other than a description of ‘Church’. The ‘Crowd’ are a community of people searching for Jesus, coming together to listen to and be fed by him. When he “takes, blesses, breaks and gives” them the bread to eat they become a Eucharistic community which unites with Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and previews the coming of the Kingdom of God.  

Once we come to realise that the ‘crowd’ in this miracle are, in the mind of John, the ‘Church’, we can spot some other amazing details included by John alone in telling the story of the miracle.   
We notice, for instance, that the five loaves and two fish are presented by a ‘boy’. John is the only one to mention that it was a ‘boy’ who presented the bread and fish. And not just a boy, the Greek word used is actually ‘a little boy’. From the point of view of social standing a child is the lowest of the low; a person ‘to be seen and not heard’, one who is excluded and seen as having nothing to offer society.  
And yet… and yet… it is this ‘small boy’ who becomes the central figure in the miracle. Without him, it could never have happened. This is not accidental. John is saying that the Eucharistic Community – the Church – is for all and includes all.  
More than this: the ‘little boy’ makes a contribution and a very important contribution to the Community. John is reminding his readers that within the Eucharistic Community (the Church), everyone – rich, poor, young, old, important, unimportant – everyone … has a contribution to make.  

Something else John tells us about the meaning of Eucharist: The loaves of bread presented by the boy are “barley loaves” (only John has this detail). Bread made from barley had a rough texture and was hard to eat. It was the bread of the poor. Bread made from wheat flour was white, smooth and soft, but well beyond the means of the poor.  
John very deliberately tells us that the bread used by Jesus was the ‘bread of the poor’. Once again, we are left in no doubt that the Eucharistic Community – the Church – is a Church of, and for, the poor.  Any crowd can come together and form a community, but that Community can only be a Eucharistic community when it is truly and transparently inclusive. No one can be excluded, and all have a contribution to make.    

One final thing to think about: The Last Supper takes place in ‘an upper room’. It is at a certain address, in a certain street; it is, in many ways, restricted by space, size and time.   
John’s Eucharist happens in the ‘open air’. There is no address except the place where they encounter Jesus. It could be anywhere and everywhere.  
Wherever a group of believers gather, that’s where Eucharistic Community happens. It’s what the Church actually is – a group of believers gathering to share a meal with Jesus, uniting ourselves with him through his journey to the Cross, to his Resurrection and onwards to the coming of the Kingdom.  

The miracle concludes with Jesus sending his apostles to collect the leftovers so that “nothing would be wasted.” They return with twelve baskets full.   
The Eucharistic Community will gather again tomorrow. The disciples will go out, taking the baskets of leftovers with them. Another community will come together, bread will “be taken, blessed, broken, and given…” and another Eucharistic Community will be born.  
And there will be more leftovers to be shared tomorrow and it will happen all over again, and again, and again, and ……   

Isn’t it truly amazing how God speaks to us through the Gospels, his Word?  God challenges, comforts, encourages, forgives…. How fortunate we are!  

Many thanks,  
Brian.  

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie