It’s interesting. For years I have been reading and reflecting on certain texts of the Bible and then suddenly, one day, something that I had never noticed or paid attention to before seems to jump off the page. What a gift and surprise!
Take the beginning of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John – a familiar recounting of a superabundance of bread and fish through the presence and action of Jesus (John 6:1-13). A large crowd, who had seen Jesus healing and freeing people from the grip of evil, follow him up the side of a mountain not far from the Sea of Galilee. Philip approaches Jesus with a logistical problem. What to do with a mass of hungry humanity when the community treasury is low?
Andrew to the rescue? He brings a lad to Jesus with five loaves of barley bread and two fish – locally sourced. What is this to a huge crowd with whetted appetites?
Jesus asks his disciples to have the people recline on the lush carpet of grass. Recline! That’s a word to indicate the posture at a feast or a banquet – not fast food or a family picnic. Jesus takes on the role of gracious host. He provides the impetus through which all the people are able to eat, be satisfied and there is a basket of leftovers collected for each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
It seems that with Jesus there will be a festive gathering, even when the fare is as simple as barley loaves (the bread the poor could afford) and fish (abundant enough to be the basis for a major regional industry). Jesus invites us to turn our ordinary, simple meals into banquets by sharing what we have with those around us and by being aware that Jesus is present with us. Lean back and savor these moments!