By Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: 2 Kings 4:42-44; Response: Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18; Second Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6; Gospel: John 6:1-15
The first reading — about Elisha miraculously feeding many people with “twenty barley loaves” — reminds us of Jesus’ feeding of a large crowd with “five barley loaves and two fish” — our gospel today. But for Jesus’ disciples, it would have been the opposite. Jesus’ miraculous actions would have reminded them of Elisha — whose life Jesus’ disciples knew well.
Comparing the two readings, an important similarity is that both Elisha and Jesus are not doing the normal thing. With Elisha, the barley loaves would normally have been given to Israel’s priests. The priests received “the first fruits” of the harvest on behalf of the Lord God. Giving the first fruits back to God is intended to emphasize that the entire harvest is a gift from God, for which the Israelites should be thankful. The people offer God the “first” fruit of the harvest — and God allows the people to keep the remaining harvest. Here, Elisha — acting on behalf of God — returns even the first fruits to the people to eat. The prophet Elisha is feeding the people directly on behalf of the Lord God.
With Jesus, he is celebrating Passover near the Sea of Galilee. But normally Jesus and his fellow Galilean Jews would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover if they were able. Indeed, Jesus is shown traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover in John 2:13 and again in John 11:55 (through John 12). Including John 6, John’s Gospel shows Jesus celebrating Passover three times. This indicates that Jesus’ public ministry occurred over three years since Passover occurs yearly in the spring.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is acting directly on behalf of God — bypassing the Jewish priests at the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus feeds the people, and thus shows that God is providing for his people in a new way.
With Elisha, the preceding verses (2 Kings 4:38-41) indicate that Elisha is feeding the people during a time of famine. During such times, our dependence on God is particularly apparent. The prophet Elisha demonstrates faith that God will feed his people especially when things are most desperate. This message is emphasized by the repeated phrase “there shall be [was] some left over.” This is further emphasized by “thus says the LORD” and “as the LORD had said.” These important phrases indicate that God has made a solemn divine promise, as reported by the prophet.
Likewise, in Jesus’ feeding of the multitude, the miracle is not only the feeding of five thousand but also the “twelve wicker baskets with fragments” that were left over. This “leftover” food is a sign of divine abundance — which the people recognize as a sign that the “Messianic age” was arriving. This new age — initiated by the arriving Messiah — Jesus calls “the kingdom of God.”
Jesus’ “feeding of the five thousand” is also recorded in Matthew 14, Mark 6 and Luke 9. It is a critically important sign of Jesus’ identity. In today’s gospel from John, the people react by saying, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” The people are recalling Deuteronomy 18:15 — in which Moses foretold, “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred.” Moses had been God’s intermediary for establishing the Covenant and Law with Israel. A new “prophet like Moses” would clearly herald a new relationship between God and his people. Miraculously fed by Jesus, the people recognize him as the promised Prophet.
Note that the people wanted to carry Jesus off “to make him king.” If Jesus had allowed this, he would have become a direct threat to Roman civil authority. Further, this gathering consisted of five thousand “men” – the Greek is specifically masculine. The Romans could easily see such a large gathering of men as a military threat. But Jesus is not seeking earthly power — so Jesus “withdrew again to the mountain alone.”
After these verses (6:1-15) from John’s Gospel, the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat — without Jesus. When it had grown dark, a strong wind rocked the boat. Suddenly Jesus walked across the sea toward their boat — frightening the disciples. Miraculously, the boat immediately arrived at the shore — in safety. This event immediately precedes “the Bread of Life Discourse” of John 6:22-71.
In our second reading, St. Paul writes the Ephesians while he is a “prisoner for the Lord.” Greek rhetoric recognized three ways to persuade an audience — logos, pathos and ethos. Logos is logical argument. Pathos is an appeal to the emotions. Ethos appeals to the authority of the speaker. Paul’s mention of his imprisonment is first an appeal to the Ephesians’ emotions — so that they might remember him and pray for him. Secondly, it emphasizes Paul’s authority as someone who is suffering for Christ’s Gospel. This adds credibility to his call for the Ephesians to live the Gospel sincerely.
Through these types of persuasion, Paul is seeking to motivate the Ephesians to live their faith in Christ Jesus “in a manner worthy of the call you have received.” Paul is reminding them of the great gift that they have received — salvation in Christ.
Paul is “exhorting” them to live “with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love.” In this way, the Ephesians can “preserve the unity of the spirit.” This is a key phrase — indicating that conflict and division have been a problem for the Christian community at Ephesus. Paul wants them to live at peace with each other.
In the following verses, Paul’s call for unity is further developed by his repeated emphasis on the word “one” — which he uses seven times! Paul’s message is that they are united in Christ Jesus — their “one Lord” — in whom they share the same “one baptism” and “one faith.” Paul insists that the Ephesian Christians together form “one body and one Spirit” — one community of faith in Christ. Being united in Christ requires that they love one another and avoid all causes of division.