Feeding the People

Tags

care for neighbors, feed the hungry, letting go, loaves and fishes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In today’s gospel we have John’s version of the miraculous feeding of the crowd that gathered to listen to Jesus at the Sea of Galilee (Jn 6:1-15). There are many lessons one can take from this reading. You probably have heard them all. Here’s one to add to the list of examples.

Yesterday I read a chapter of a new book, not yet published, about a couple who took up the task of seeing that homeless people in New York City had something to eat each day – a monumental task, to be sure. Their story put me in mind of John’s gospel and the recognition that perhaps one or two people cannot feed the entire city of New York. They came to that conclusion day by day, finally focusing on what was possible for them, responding in a way that they might not have been able to do if they had not prepared themselves for the “letting go” that became their daily work. One day, when the weather turned foul and they were faced with a man and woman without rain gear, they took off their coats and gave them to the couple, knowing it was the right thing to do. I know this couple and they could well afford to do what they did that day. The important thing, however, was their willingness, a freedom that grew in them as they practiced and came to care for the people they served.

It puts me in mind of our Sisters in Canto Chico, Peru who have been feeding the people in their neighborhood during the pandemic. They cook chickens in a big pot and serve soup to their neighbors who have nothing to eat. It was not the ministry they were prepared for but it became necessary last year. And someone had an over-abundance of chickens to offer to the pot!

We do not have Jesus with us in the flesh today, but we do cherish in our hearts the way he was present to people and do what we can to imitate his generous outpouring of love, feeding people in whatever way we can. Is there something you can do in your neighborhood to alleviate stress and “feed” in some way a neighbor in need? We cannot not save the whole world but even a smile and a kind word would go a long way to light up someone’s life. Stay awake today and see what shows up as a chance to be Christ in a new way in your neighborhood.

Always A Solution

Tags

creativity, Jesus, loaves and fishes, openness, possibility, problem solving, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The gospels are replete with stories that teach a lesson. Sometimes I just have to smile at what looks like a “throw-away sentence” but is really a clue to the way Jesus functioned and a lesson that he was offering to his followers. Today, for example, we have one of the “feeding of the 5,000” stories—the one that Jesus uses to challenge the creativity of his followers by asking a question. “Where shall we buy bread for all these people?” he asked Philip. We get a clue to his purpose as the gospel then says, “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” (I would have hated to be in Philip’s shoes as creativity is not my best gift…and I’m not fond of being tested like that.) Philip couldn’t get his mind around a possible answer to the question so it was a good thing that there were others more creative in the band. Andrew’s answer of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish from a boy in the crowd was clearly not a solution but it got the miracle going.

Sometimes we don’t have to have the solution to a problem all by ourselves; it’s good to have companions who can add to the solution. I have always been amazed at what can happen if a group comes together with a willingness to help and an openness to possibilities—even if some of the suggestions seem impossible, because sometimes that’s all that’s needed to get the creative juices of the group flowing. Jesus knew that and he trusted the group he had gathered. It’s up to us to do the same, letting go of wanting to be in charge but willing to add what we can to a solution. We may not be able to feed 5,000 people in the end but if the love generated in the group takes over, it can be a beautiful thing to see what God can create in us.

Impromptu Supper

Tags

disciples, feed people, gift of love, give, Jesus, loaves and fishes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the day when that formidable gospel appears. It’s a great miracle story – but has a twist that makes me groan and look inside myself every time. If I hear the words “feeding of the 5,000” I know I can’t just sail along to the end where everyone gets relaxed on the green grass and fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish until they’re more than satisfied. Jesus is interesting in this text from MK 6:34-44.

When the disciples come and suggest to Jesus that he send the people away after a rather long session of teaching so they can find food somewhere (and perhaps so they themselves can do the same), Jesus comes back with a challenge. “Give them some food yourselves,” he says. Imagine their surprise! How could he even think that was possible? They must have felt silly walking around asking everyone to contribute their meager meal to the huge crowd but they did what he asked. The results were not at all helpful: 5 loaves and 2 fish – for 5,000 people (men only!) but again they did what he asked, having them sit down in groups while Jesus said the blessing over the food and then distributing what became more than enough for everyone.

There’s so much to wonder about. Where did they get the baskets for distribution and collection of leftovers? How did that whole process of distribution start. “He broke the loaves…and divided the fish…” It reminds me of a family vacation where my father took my friend fishing and she came back with one very small fish that she joyfully cooked and distributed among the half-dozen people in attendance – a tiny but wonderful appetizer to the meal. A gift of love.

It doesn’t really matter, I guess, what is given as long as we do willingly what we believe we are being called to do. It is our “Yes” – spoken or not – that counts. God takes care of the rest.

Feeding the Hungry

Tags

Ephesians, food pantry, hunger, John, loaves and fishes, soup kitchen, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

For some time now, the Sisters of St. Joseph, Albany Province have had as a province goal to see food as a human right and to work toward the elimination of hunger in our country and elsewhere in every way possible. Although it seems an insurmountable achievement, we work toward it as we can. Some of us write letters to our government representatives or call when legislation like the Farm Bill comes up for a vote. Some work in a soup kitchen or food pantry and at most of our province gatherings we are asked to bring a non-perishable food item in support of those volunteers and our goal. Some would call us foolish for thinking we could really achieve much progress toward realization of such a societal change as the number of children and adults who go hungry each night is astronomical (and shameful in a country such as ours). Yet we “soldier on” hoping that our voices will be heard and our attempts will change the consciousness of others in our midst.

Today’s gospel from John (6: 1-15) tells the familiar story of the feeding of the five thousand. That miracle happened, we are told, because of a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish who cooperated because Jesus wanted everyone to be fed. In the letter to the Ephesians, also part of today’s readings, we hear the exhortation to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…bearing with one another through love…striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit…”

With reflection on – and living out of – those two Scripture passages, how can we fail?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeding the Hungry

Tags

enough, feeding, food, handout, Jesus, John the Baptist, loaves and fishes, Matthew, metanoia, needs of the world, peaceable kingdom, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is a line from Matthew’s gospel in the story called variously “the loaves and the fishes” or “the feeding of the five thousand” (CH 14) that always goes straight to my heart. It appears today and catches me as usual. It is late in a day that began with Jesus trying to escape the crowds to grieve the death of John the Baptist. Failing that, Jesus responds to the needs in what has turned into a long and likely tiring session of healing people. The narrative picks up with the apostles saying to Jesus that he ought to send the people away because it’s late and there’s no availability of food to buy in the deserted place where they are. They will need to go to one of the villages nearby to buy food. There is no need for them to go away, Jesus says. Give them something to eat yourselves. The gospel continues with the miracle of feeding the whole crowd on five loaves and two small fish.

How often the needs of the world seem that impossible to fulfill! And it is true that we cannot achieve such a goal alone. It will take a monumental – miraculous even – metanoia (conversion) to get our world on track toward the “peaceable kingdom” where all are fed and cared for. My question for today, however, is this: how shall we be until that possibility comes into view? Whom and how am I being asked to feed today? Am I awake to the people who need a kind word or a sandwich to help them through the day? Is it enough that I go through the day mindful of those for whom I have promised to pray? There wasn’t much to go on when Jesus started that “handout” but the result, worked through his helpers, fed them all.

Can we believe that what we have to give is enough?

 

 

 

 

 

The Body of Christ

Tags

call to service, Christ's body, Corpus Christi, Eucharist, loaves and fishes, miracle, signs, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In the Roman Catholic Church, we celebrate today the feast that I grew up knowing as Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ). I had a strange moment as I navigated to the US Catholic Bishops’ website this morning. I must not have been fully awake because when I read the designation of the feast as The  Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ it sounded unfamiliar, full of pomp and ceremony – something I could not identify…until in the next moment I said to myself, “Oh, of course, it’s Corpus Christi Sunday!” and it became something familiar as in my mind’s eye I saw a procession to the Eucharist table, heard the congregation singing, Precious Body, precious Blood, here in bread and wine…punctuated by the repetition of the ministers of the Eucharist repeating to every communicant, “The body of Christ” in the most familiar and profound ritual of our faith.

Next I read the gospel, Luke’s rendition of the feeding of the five thousand (LK 9:11-17) where all sorts of random thoughts – maybe somewhat connected – followed from the text flowing in and out of my mind. Here are some that stuck. First, when the disciples told Jesus to dismiss the crowds after a day of preaching and healing so they  could go somewhere to find food, Jesus said, “Give them something to eat yourselves.” We know the story: they protest because of the huge crowd and the fact that all they have is 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and the cost to feed them all – even if they found food in or around this deserted place – would be prohibitive. Then follows the miracle where the food is distributed and everyone is fed. Imagine the surprise of the disciples who were doing the distribution! So next I try to think about that moment. It says Jesus looked up to heaven, said the blessing over the bread and fish, broke them, then handed them to the disciples to give out. So did the multiplication happen in the blessing? in the breaking? or did each of the disciples get a basket (where did those come from?) with some tiny morsel of food inside that then became a fullness as they walked among the crowds? Does any of this matter? The point is, it seems, that people were fed. But maybe just as important as that is the fact that the disciples were agents of the feeding even though Jesus had engineered the miracle. Can you imagine Jesus doing the distribution by himself? They would have been there all night or longer!

So what is the message here? Jesus left many signs in an attempt to teach his disciples (and us) how to be in the world. “Give them something to eat yourselves” was a clear directive – and it couldn’t have been easy to manage that in such a crowd – so the call to service is not always easy and never (if truly understood) prestigious but the “endgame” is worth the effort. My last random thought was “You are what you eat.” What we take into our bodies becomes part of us – for better or for worse. What the crowd – including the disciples, I presume – were eating in today’s reading as well as at the Last Supper and what we eat during the Eucharistic liturgy has been transacted into the body of Christ. Thus, we ourselves become Christ’s body as we eat and as we serve in Christ’s name. Just as the disciples could not understand the reality that they were witnessing in the midst of that crowd, our ordinary minds cannot perceive what truly happens each time we eat at Eucharist and go out to act as Christ’s body in the world. But as we wake up to the possibility contained in our actions, as we give ourselves more and more to a generous “becoming” for God in the world, the transformation becomes more evident, more luminous, and the effort is more than worth the gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something to Eat

Tags

body and soul, Elisha, Ephesians, food pantries, hunger, John, Kings, loaves and fishes, miracle, need, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

The gospel reading for this morning is John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes (JN 6:1-15). The question of the disciples is “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” A similar question is posed in the first reading (2 KINGS 4:42-44 – less familiar to me) when Elisha directs a man who has given him 20 barley loaves to “give it to the people to eat.” When his servant asks, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” The prophet repeats, “Give it to the people to eat. For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over…'” Indeed, in both cases there was a great deal left over – one miracle foreshadowing the other, greater one.

It is, I think, the coming together of need and the willingness to satisfy it that creates the miracle in these readings. I think about the prevailing sense that there is enough food in the world today so that no one need go hungry if we will take steps toward a just distribution of what exists. Lately I’ve been seeing reports of more and more efforts in this regard – some in direct service, e.g. food collections at various events as “entry fees” and church collections for their food pantries, and some that address systems like the Clinton Foundation Global Initiative Food Systems Track that “supports strategies  to meet the rapidly growing global demand for food while also protecting the natural resources critical to the future of food production and human well-being.” (www.clintonfoundation.org)

St. Paul is reminding the Ephesians this morning of our call to live a life of unity in the spirit of “the one God who is over all and through all and in all.” (EPH 4:1-6). In this way, the feeding of the people takes on a deeper meaning leading to the “human well-being” spoken of above. So when we bring our canned goods to church or give a donation to an organization like Bread for the World, let us pray for that unity and be willing to participate in the feeding of both the body and soul of our brothers and sisters throughout our neighborhood and the world.

How Hungry?

Tags

bread alone, eternal life, going deeper, hungry, Jesus, loaves and fishes, Matthew, reflection, Scriptures, spiritual life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Word of God

The gospel acclamation gives a clue to the message of Jesus this morning, saying: One does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (MT 4:4). The day after they had eaten their fill from the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the crowd could not find Jesus so, knowing that many boats had crossed the Sea of Galilee (not a very far distance) they, themselves, got into boats and found him in Capernaum. When they asked how he got there he didn’t answer but rather said to them, You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. (JN 6).

It’s interesting to follow the 6th chapter of John’s gospel. First we have the miracle when great compassion for the hungry crowds has Jesus creating a meal for 5,000 (plus women and children) out of 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The next day when they come back for more he seems to be remonstrating with them in what he says (quoted above). Maybe he’s just tired of being pursued and looking for a little respite at home. It does sound like he slipped away purposely the night before. I think, however, that he is just pushing them to go a little deeper. It is important to give people the necessities of life before trying to evangelize – missionaries know that – but once people have been fed and provided for on a physical level, it’s time to “go for the gold” in living a spiritual life.

I was thinking how beneficial it has been for me to write this blog almost every day. Reflecting on the Scriptures in this way has sharpened my perception about the universal nature of the messages I find there and the application to daily life becomes clearer with each reflection. Then I find in out-of-the-way places “the word of God” which calls for a response from me. I have become more hungry for that word and believe now that I cannot live without it. It is indeed this food that endures for eternal life.

Give A Little

Tags

deep breath, determination, generous, John, loaves and fishes, mindfulness, miracle, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning as I read the story of the loaves and fishes (JN 6:1-15), I started thinking about the generous boy who didn’t hide or hoard his food but willingly made known what he had. And look what happened; he was the conduit for a miracle! Because of the internet, that kind of miracle can happen often now. If someone (and it seems even more engaging if it’s a child or teenager) tweets about a cause, the result is often stunning in money collected or people joining the effort. It’s heartwarming to read those stories.

I’m back with the boy in the story, however. He didn’t have a lot. He just shared his lunch. So today I wonder what I’ll be called to give up or share of myself or my goods for someone else. I hope I will share. I hope I will even notice the one who is asking either verbally or silently. It will take mindfulness on this rainy day when sleep seems more attractive than staying awake. A deep breath of determination is a start, so that I’m able to manage – and now for the next breath, and the next…

Joining the Dance

Tags

helping people, John, let go, let God lead, loaves and fishes, love, Matthew, miracle, opportunities, problem solving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I’ve said, there are very simple and direct statements in the letters of John, as today he says: Beloved, love one another because love is of God. (1Jn 4:7). A few verses later, it goes on to say more about this love. In this is love: not that we have loved God but that God loved us and sent his Son…

The gospel for today is a familiar one, Matthew’s recounting of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. It seems to me a perfect illustration of the first reading since when the disciples recognize the late hour they go to Jesus with their concern and the need of the people to eat. When he says “Give them something to eat yourselves,” they protest, seeing the impossibility of finding enough food for everyone. So Jesus takes the situation in hand, asking about the possible (“How much food do we have to work with?”) and providing from a ridiculously small amount enough for everyone. What I recognize today is the beautiful interplay between God’s love in the person of Jesus whose ability to solve the situation is never in question and the disciples who, although they recognize the difficulty, are at a loss to solve it but (in spite of themselves) continue to be participants in the solution to the end when Jesus gives them the food to distribute and then the charge to gather up what’s left. All he does (it appears) is bless the food, ask questions and give directives.

How might we stay awake today for the opportunities of such a dance with God in helping the people who come our way? It seems the way to proceed is to let God lead and let go of the necessity of knowing all the steps when we enter the dance.