FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO FISH

PRAYER MOMENT             

Friday, 2 May 2014

FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO FISH

Pause. Be present on the hillside with the ‘large crowd’.

Reading: “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?” (John 6:1-15)

Reflection. Some committee in Rome forty years ago must have had fun deciding which parts of John’s gospel to put in late Lent (the tension and confrontation bits) and which parts in Easter time (the growth and consolation bits). Here is an example of the latter. A few loaves and fish feed a large crowd and “twelve hampers” of scraps were left over. That last detail itself gives us pause for thought. God multiplies the effects of the smallest human efforts by the “smallest” people. When we try to do something with all our heart it has a ripple effect that we do not know. And, as has often been pointed out, this passage has Eucharistic echoes that are not separate from these efforts. The mention of bread will tell us that. It is all one offering.

   

Prayer. Lord, help us to come with our daily offering of our lives. Bless and multiply what we do so that your people may have life, your life. Amen..

David Harold-Barry SJ