TODAY’S GOSPEL REFLECTIONS: “Jesus, Bread of Life” April 21, 2023. Friday of the Second Week of Easter.

Gospel

Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.

A large crowd followed him,

because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.

Jesus went up on the mountain,

and there he sat down with his disciples.

The Jewish feast of Passover was near.

When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,

he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"

He said this to test him,

because he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him,

"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough

for each of them to have a little."

One of his disciples,

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,

"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;

but what good are these for so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people recline."

Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.

So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,

and distributed them to those who were reclining,

and also as much of the fish as they wanted.

When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,

"Gather the fragments left over,

so that nothing will be wasted."

So they collected them,

and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments

from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.

When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,

"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."

Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off

to make him king,

he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Reflection: 

A blessed Friday to all! Jesus fed the five thousand not including women and children which means there could be more. He multiplied the five barley loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. But when people were fixated on the fact that they were given food and were satisfied rather than what He preached as the Messiah, He hid Himself from them. We, too, if we are so consumed by thinking about what we can get from God and the material needs we can obtain from Him, He subjects us to trials to purify our faith. True and deep faith in God is not rooted in what we can get from Him, but rather a deep knowing of the Person of the Christ. 

Sometimes, we can only know God deeply through suffering. It is easy to be carried away by the delights of the world and forget God if we are not careful. He is the Eucharistic Lord, the True Bread of Life, who is given to us in the Holy Communion. His body is us all. Your body is His body for as we eat His Body and Blood, we are transformed into Him. Unlike the usual food that becomes part of us and our body, when we eat Jesus in the sacrament of the Holy Communion, we are the ones who become part of His. 

If we let Him continually be the Lord of our life, the Master of all our decisions and plans, our lives will be transformed into becoming the life that God designed for us. This is, in fact, the best life we could ever have – the one that is planned by our Maker Himself. He embedded that deep into our beings and it could never be against God or sin. The way to this life is the Eucharist who is our Lord Himself, but not just that, we are tasked to know the spiritually deep meaning of the Eucharist in our lives. It is not enough to receive Him only in the sacrament, but to receive Him into our hearts; to listen to His Word, and to obey Him through the Word in making changes in our lives. 

This way, we shall become fully satisfied in our lives, not just because of the material goods but because of the real presence of Christ in our lives who is the Bread of Life. May we continuously reflect on this. Amen. +

God bless us and give us peace of the Risen Christ. Amen. +

Reflections by: F.M.M.J.

Go to USCCB website for the full readings.