Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ of Saint John 6:1-15.
The multiplication of the loaves.
The multiplication of the loaves.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Raymond - - -
Sent: Sunday, 29 July 2012
Subject:
Sun 17 b
When Jesus came to reveal himself to his chosen people he knew that he had to do much more than just perform miracles for them. The Jews were the people of the Word of God, people of the Book, the people who were the guardians of Gods revelation to the world. He had to prove to them his links with their sacred traditions. He had to prove to them that he was the one who was spoken of so often in their Scriptures; He had to prove that he was the very one they had been looking for and longing for for so many centuries. It would take more than miracles to do that. We can understand this if we recall St Paul's warning that if even an angel of God were to preach a doctrine different to his he must be ignored. So the Jews knew instinctively that the Messiah would be confirm by searching their holy books.
Jesus himself says this explicitly in his conversation with the two disciples he met on their way to Emmaus after his resurrection. We read that he explained to them all that was written about himself in the Books of Moses and the Prophets. Today’s Gospel gives us a typical example of this linking between the events of the Old Testament and the words and deeds of Jesus in the New.
In the Old Testament reading we hear of the prophet Elijah multiplying 20 loaves to feed 100 people whereas in the Gospel we read of Jesus working a similar, but much greater miracle by multiplying 5 loaves to feed five thousand people.
Likewise in the Old Testament we read of the same prophet raising the dead by restoring to a widow her dead son whereas in the Gospels we read of Jesus likewise restoring a dead son to his widowed mother. But again the miracle of Jesus is so much more powerful because it is accomplished by a mere word and in an instant, whereas Elijah has to go through a great performance of laying himself seven times on the boy’s body, face to face, mouth to mouth.
Again we have the story of the innocent Susannah being saved from death by the prophet Daniel because she was so innocent, whereas, in the Gospels we have the woman who really was caught in adultery, being saved by Jesus even though she was so guilty. “Does no one condemn thee? Then neither do I”. Go and sin no more.”
Finally we must note that both today’s old testament reading and the new testament one are both foreshadowings of the new bread of life that would be shared not only by hundreds or even by thousands but by countless millions from then on to the end of time: The Eucharist.
