Gospel: Mt 14:13-21
WHEN Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
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Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish to feed the hungry crowd is reported in all four Gospels. The Fourth Gospel specifies that the loaves are of barley. There are parallels in the account to the story of Elisha’s feeding of 100 men with barley loaves (cf 2 Kgs 4:24-44). Elisha’s servant voices out an impossibility: how can 100 people be satisfied with 20 barley loaves? Here the disciples tell Jesus that five loaves and two fish are all they have. The parallelism tells us that with Jesus, the time of miracles associated with the prophets Elijah and Elisha has come again.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
