A surprise present or a visit from a loved one often brings great joy. One of the loveliest and yet most challenging aspects of Christianity is the fact that we worship a surprising God. Our Heavenly Father uses all sorts of people, and situations, in ways which we do not expect. The Christian journey is not always straightforward. The key is faith: trusting God to be at work, and knowing that everything will be good in the end.

In the Gospel, the people of Israel are like sheep without a shepherd. They feel let down and abandoned by their political and religious leaders. Such sentiments are widespread and understandable. However, there has been something of a religious revival in Galilee, and Our Lord has attracted quite a considerable following, numbering over five thousand people. After the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the call to repentance and baptism, and some inspiring healing and teaching, people are excited. Prophecies are being fulfilled. The question on everyone’s lips is: Could this man really be the Messiah? 

Once again Jesus has taken His disciples across the See of Galilee for some rest and recuperation. However, the people’s need is great. They understand Christ’s healing miracles as a sign of the Kingdom, and they are keen to learn, and to be fed and nourished, both physically, and spiritually. Our Lord goes up onto higher ground and sits down. This makes perfect sense, especially as He is about to address the large number of people following Him. We should note the context. It is almost the Feast of Passover, the holiest day of the Jewish year, which marked their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. The Passover was the time when people expected the Messiah to return, to lead the people to freedom. 

Then Jesus asks the disciple named Philip a question:

“Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

“Ble y gallwn brynu bara i’r rhain gael bwyta?” (Jn 6:5)

Our Lord already knows the answer, but He wants to see what Philip thinks. The disciple replies:

“Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”

“Ni byddai bara gwerth dau gant o ddarnau arian yn ddigon i roi tamaid bach i bob un ohonynt.” (Jn 6:7)

Two hundred denarii was over six months wages for a labourer. It is a large sum of money, which would buy a lot of food. Also feeding such a large crowd would be a logistical nightmare. Apart from the cost, there is the question of how you would get the food in the first place. Then Peter’s brother Andrew makes an intervention:

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

“Y mae bachgen yma a phum torth haidd a dau bysgodyn ganddo, ond beth yw hynny rhwng cynifer?” (Jn 6:9)

Andrew has a point: if £10,000 worth of food would only give people a mouthful, then a small bag full of food is a drop in an ocean of need. The situation appears to be an impossible one. Then Jesus acts.

Our Lord asks the people to sit down. There are five thousand men, and possibly another fifteen thousand women and children. Jesus takes the loaves and fishes, and blesses them. After thanking God for the food, He gives it to be distributed among the people. Not only does everyone eat as much as they want, but at the end there are twelve baskets of leftovers. It is through prayer and blessing that bread can be broken, distributed, and provide sustenance on a scale, and in a way, that defies human expectation and understanding. Not only are a huge number of people fed, but, as a sign of the super-abundance of God’s love and mercy, there is more left over at the end than there was to begin with! In the same way, the kingdom of God, of which the bread is a sign, grows when God’s love is shared. This love satisfies people’s deepest needs. The more we share it, the more there is. The Kingdom of God is a place of generosity and love, a place where our needs are answered and we are transformed.

John’s Gospel describes how Jesus takes, blesses, breaks and distributes bread, demonstrating how the Kingdom of God works. This looks forward to the Institution of the Eucharist by Jesus at the Last Supper.

The same miraculous feeding that took place by the shore of the Sea of Galilee will also happen here today. We gather as the people of God, united in love and faith, and offer ourselves. Like the small boy, we give the bread that we have, so that it may be taken, blessed, broken and given out. In this way we become partakers in the mystical supper of the Kingdom of God. We eat the Body of Christ not as ordinary food, but as bread for the journey of faith. The Eucharist is the sign and token of God’s love. This is the means by which we enjoy the close presence of God.

The crowd recognises the miraculous feeding as a sign, signifying God’s love, and the presence of the Messiah in their midst. In response they want to enact a political coup, and make Jesus a king. This is not what Our Lord wants, so He withdraws, to be alone, to be with God. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes shows us that God is active in the world, pouring out His generous love, meeting our needs, and healing our wounds. This is not the start of a political campaign. Christ does not want earthly power. Instead, He wants to reign in our hearts, and in our lives.

God uses barley bread — the bread of the poor — to feed His people. This points to the Eucharist and to the Cross as the place where humanity is nourished and healed. We follow Christ’s example week by week, because without Him, our hunger remains unsatisfied. 

Today and every day we give thanks that God loves us. He reveals His love in ways which often surprise us, and which defy our expectations. When we trust in Christ we are transformed in this life, and the next. We become prepared for Heaven, where we, and all the faithful, will sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.