THE WORD
Jer 28,1-17 / Mt 14,13-21
When Jesus heard of [the death of John the Baptist], he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two share all we have here. Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down in the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
IN OTHER WORDS
I got invited one afternoon to the birthday party of a relative in Canlubang, Laguna. Seeing so many friends around, I thought the food wouldn’t be enough. But she smiled saying, “The Lord will provide – just wait, we’ll surely have extra food for you to take home.” And yes indeed, I didn’t go home empty-handed. Trusting HIM has a significant role in our lives.
And speaking of food, what is enough to satisfy our deepest hunger or longing in life? People from all walks of life followed Jesus not only to touch his “cloak” and be healed, or listen to him to receive the blessings but to ask for more of that “heavenly bread.” We who long to receive that food have a similar experience. And Jesus never disappoints us if we persevere. By virtue of His promise, He will never abandon us or leave us orphaned. He supplied crowd with enough food for everyone.
Until now, the multiplication of bread continues through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
We are all invited to eat this bread from heaven. By our giving and sharing of what we have to the needy, we offer the greatest miracle that we can show to Jesus. Christ is able to feed the multitudes through us in a way that goes far beyond what we can comprehend. Christ can take the gift of our lives to touch the lives of many. Our gift ceases to be natural and becomes supernatural. Let us offer more loaves of bread and more share in prayer and allow God’s grace to transform our lives.
- Fr. Jun C. Pateño, SVD | U.S.A.
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
