GIVING AND NOT FEARING ARE BLESSINGS FROM GOD
Reflection for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
July 25, 2021 | John 6:1-21
By: The Rev. Erahvilla Maga-Cabillas
Parish of the Holy Cross, Diliman, Quezon City
Our Gospel reading this ninth Sunday after Pentecost is from the Gospel of John Chapter 6 verses 1-21. Noticeably, the Gospel readings from the second till the eighth Sundays after Pentecost were taken from the Gospel of Mark. Now we are in the Gospel of John. To date, the Markan Gospel presented the miracles taking place during Jesus’ ministry of which most were related to healings and casting-out demons. Here, the Johannine Gospel unfolds two most remarkable acts of Jesus: (1) Feeding of the 5,000 men (and more if the women and children were accounted for); and (2) Jesus’ walking on the sea which made the disciples terrified.
The common explanation we hear about these two biblical accounts of the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus’ walking on the sea is that they were both miracles. No question! In fact, in my previous sermon I called it the miracle of sharing the resources from God to those who have-nots. In various gatherings of the church, with the WOPIC’s presence, no one ever gets hungry. When we learn to give and to share the bounty we have, all will be blessed. When the resources of the country are equally shared and enjoyed by all, then there is abundance; but when they are owned and kept by the very few, then poverty and scarcity are present.
Today this is reflective of the economic situation of our country and of the world. Why are there many poor among us when our country is blessed with rich resources? Why are the countries like Madagascar, Yemen, etc., in Africa and other countries so-called “third-world” or developing countries remain poverty-stricken; when Africa is endowed with gold, diamonds, big forests, and rich marine life? Same with the Philippines, too. Does anyone ever wonder?
When we have a strong faith in God we will not fear whatever circumstances we are facing. Yes, even including the pandemic! Do we need to fear when the vaccines created and manufactured by the big pharmaceuticals do not go the natural process of testing and other protocols and are crazily distributed/sold around the world. People are convinced to be vaccinated yet even these are not the cure for Covid with all its variants. Does anyone ask why? No time to question the roll-out urgency of these vaccines because we want to follow what our leaders say and command. No time to choose from the many types of vaccines purchased by our government and even including those donated by other countries. Thanks! But we want to ask: was there no underlying or hidden condition? How much is the amount of borrowed loans undisclosed to the public? Well, this government has the authority to borrow more and more as it will not be accountable to pay its debts; it is the Filipino people’s. The joke is that even my unborn grandchild has already incurred a debt to be paid. ☺
To recall, the first part of the Gospel accounts, the “Feeding of Five Thousand” was set in a setting with Jesus and His disciples were resting in a mountain, in the wilderness, but He saw the multitudes coming to them. Jesus was so popular that five thousand men, with unaccounted women and children, left their villages and came to follow Him. Though there might have been an exaggeration of the numbers because villages during Jesus’ time were not really that big. Maybe because the Passover Feast had just ended; and there was the possibility of the huge number of the multitudes following Him.
Jesus’ compassionate heart exudes throughout all the biblical narratives. In the story, Jesus saw a large crowd coming towards Him. He said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip answered Jesus, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Then Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, He told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that He had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
The most notable character in the story was the little boy, who was not even recognized nor counted among the 5000 men present. But his very act of offering the five barley loaves and two fish made him exemplary in the story; it was not the disciples, although they also were concerned because they were up in the mountain, in the middle of the wilderness. It is a total admiration for the little boy to have offered his “baon” for the provision of many. Maybe the little boy’s parents were so happy and proud of him, their son doing a great thing, which especially pleased Jesus.
During their time, the barley loaves and fish were the common food of the ordinary people; wheat and meat were of the rich. (Thanks to Rev. Revelation Velunta of the Union Theological Seminary for the reminder.) In short, the multitudes who came after Jesus were the poor, the “anawims,” who were very much attracted to Jesus because they were not only healed from their sickness but saw somebody who was compassionate and who understood them. In verse 14, when the people saw the sign that He had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."
In Jesus they saw a potential leader who would liberate them from their poor situation. We know that during Jesus’ ministry the whole Palestine and the nearby areas were under the Roman Empire. The people experienced double taxation: the Roman tax and the temple tax. There was disparity in the economic situation. The “anawims” belonged to the outcast of the society. They were outside the circles of the leaders, the rich and the religious. The Old Testament prophets referred to them as those from the periphery. And for them, Jesus was the right figure for a political leader to end their injustices and to bring down the mighty in the society; He was the very person to liberate them. But when Jesus realized that they were about to come, take Him by force, and make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself (verse 15). That was why when Jesus refused to become their king, they were among those who shouted: “Ipako sa krus!” They shouted, “Crucify Him,” during the Holy Week which we observed annually.
When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
John’s Gospel has double meanings but should not be taken literally. I wonder if the two biblical narratives, the feeding of the multitudes and the walking on the sea, really had taken place. I mean if they were real events but only stories narrated by the writer of the Johannine Gospel to emphasize something in order to introduce clearly who Jesus is to the readers and listeners. The feeding of multitudes had semblance to Moses in the desert (Old Testament) in the wilderness where the fleeing Israelites from the bondage of Pharaoh was fed by manna which fell from heaven. And Jesus’ walking on the sea was another semblance of Moses’ dividing the sea to enable the people to cross toward their total liberation from the Pharaoh. That the writer of John’s Gospel was giving more weight to disclose Jesus as the true Messiah! It was not Moses nor any of the prophets sent by the Father but Jesus is the ONE! Jesus is the true Son of God of whom the Jewish people do not believe until now; because for them the Messiah has not yet come.
Shall I say, we Christians are blessed because we believe the Lord, yet we have not yet seen Him. We embrace Him into our lives, yet we have not touched even the edge of His robe? Let us reflect more on the meaning of these two biblical narratives in relation to our individual lives and in our faith today. The sprouting of the Community Pantry in many parts of the country, and even outside the country, had started with a young woman, Ms. Patricia Non in Maginhawa Street, Quezon City. But she was red-tagged, accused as “terrorist,” and called by other names. But she did not fear and instead claimed it was a response to the needy. Many affirmed her initiative and multiplied the modest act of giving and responding to the needs of the people in this time of pandemic. Yes, the churches followed suit!
Honestly, after I heard her public interview, I was dumbfounded! I humbled myself that it took this young woman to act, to respond to the situation. Is it not supposed to be the church initiative? Our human nature is to always think we need more to do more but the story of Jesus’ feeding the multitudes shows us that God can do so much more with so little! The little boy was an instrument reminding and challenging us to be humble and grateful enough to share the blessings God bestowed upon us. Ms Patricia Non is a contemporary image of the little boy. And no matter how small or insignificant we may feel sometimes in ourselves and in our lives, God wants us to do small and big things through us if we let God lead us without fear and trembling from what the authorities and principalities may say or what others may comment about.
Take note, in verse 6, Jesus asked Philip where to get bread, but even before Philip answered Jesus already knew Himself what He was going to do. Jesus was only testing Philip! What does Jesus really want us to do? What does Jesus really want the churches do? Giving is a blessing from God, and not fearing because of God is a blessing as well… Blessed Sunday everyone!
