Bread for the Needy

Today’s Gospel Text:  When the crowds learned it, they followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, "Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place." 13 But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish - unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each." 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces. Luke 9:11-17

Reflection: What a miracle! Christ Jesus could indeed feed the multitudes with just five loaves and two fishes. 

The scripture tells us that there were five thousand men and we do not know how many women and children were there in the large gathering that had primarily come to listen to the message and miracles of Jesus.

Who could doubt the ability of Christ to multiply and feed the hungry untill they were completely satisfied and even have some of the food remaining?

Perhaps there must have been many beggars in Israel and Jesus could have performed more of these miracles often to feed the poor and the hungry and he had the ability to that.

In our times there are many in the church who have made feeding the poor with material food and other forms of benefits their very goal.  

Some have made their struggle on behalf of the poor their spirituality and a way of life.  Many have chosen to interpret gospel texts in similar fashion and today’s gospel in which Jesus feeds the multitude could be interpreted by them in a similar way.

What they forget is that the evil one is as interested in leading us away from the truth of the gospel and keeps us focused purely on the poor and the downtrodden and make us forget the primary food; the bread of heaven, Christ Jesus.

The gospel action of Jesus clearly shows that Jesus first fed them with the spiritual food and then the material food.

It also shows that the miracle was performed more so for the sake of the disciples, whom he exhorts to feed the crowd and then when the bread and fish is blessed he hands them over to the disciples to be distributed.

And the bread and fish was not meant for the materially poor but for the spiritual needy who came to hear God’s word.  

For the dedicated disciples this miracle follows their preaching and healing mission which Christ Jesus has sent them on.

Prayer:  “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11; cfr. Jn. 6:34)

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The Inner Light

Today’s Gospel Text:  And they came to Jericho; and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimae'us, a blind beggar, the son of Timae'us, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 49 And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; rise, he is calling you." 50 And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Master, let me receive my sight." 52 And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. Mark 10:46-52

Reflection: Blindness is like the darkness that does not enable us to see the things around us.

Our eyes may be open and we may search and seek out and yet we may never find the things unless we are familiar with the surroundings.

How then can the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, perhaps blind from birth, be familiar with the things around him?

A blind man can work with assistance from outside because his other senses may still be working and enlightening his various faculties.  

The poor and the handicapped are more open to take the help of the other and are much dependent on external help to lead them anywhere or rather those who acknowledge their poverty and handicap are blessed, they shall seek that external help and may not easily fall into a ditch.  

Thus there may have been many blind men in and around Jericho and yet it was only Bartimaeus who cried with a faith for that real and true external help that made the miracle possible; a help that never deceives. 

Deep within the blind man may still feel the burden of burdening others with his handicap, even though in reality the handicapped are always a blessing to the community because they teach us the essential things of life, things that can ultimately lead us to eternal life. 

One of the essential things that they teach us is that we too are handicapped in some measure or the other and our pride may blind us to this reality. 

We do not know why they are handicapped but God is closer to them in a special way and is always willing to help them if only they know how to acknowledge and seek him.

And who is a handicapped? Is it the one whose eyesight fails him or is it the one whom the world sees and recognizes as one or is it the one who in their deepest being feel the need for help to take them out of their misery?

Yes, the world may not recognize the deeper handicap of every human being and even that situation is a situation of being handicapped but it is only those who know and acknowledge their handicapped nature and turn to the savior Jesus Christ,who alone can help, they will be the ones who will find their salvation.

Prayer: "In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. 2 Sam 22:7

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Seek the Special Seed

Scripture/Bible:  And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:26-29

Reflection: Have you often felt that you understand certain things and yet not able to explain the mystery of that particular thing? Do not worry, that’s the mystery of life.  Part of the mystery is also this; we may not understand everything about life itself and yet we could go on with life as normal beings and sometimes what seems normal may not be normal.

The parable of today brings forth a mystery of life that concerns the supernatural intervention in our midst.  How fortunate we are that it doesn’t assert that we need to know all the mystery concerning it.  There are some things we can and need to know about this mystery: the scattered seed sprouting and growing, then the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.


But how it happens we need not know: "for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Phil 2:13

Is the parable telling us that we are the earth and this “earth shall produce of itself”(vs.28a), when it receives the seed of the word of God. 

If all that Jesus talks about in the parable could be called the “miracle of the seed”, sprouting to ultimately produce a great harvest, then if our lives have to be a miracle it has to receive the seed of the word of God, scattered deeply in our hearts and watered by the Holy Spirit.

Thus we can become the miracle of a plentiful harvest and the world will never go hungry, not for the bread that perishes, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Mt. 4:4; Lk. 4:4; Dt. 8: 3)

Prayer:  Father, may I seek to be the soil that welcomes the seed of life, so that spurred by its presence may I be your instrument of life to others.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Allowing God to Work in me; repentance.

Bible: "Woe to you, Chora'zin! woe to you, Beth-sa'ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. Luke 10:13

Reflection:  I am wondering how many in Chorazin and Bethsaida may have watched these mighty things done by Jesus. Imagine a big town and a miracle done in some private places: how many would be around at the time of performing a mighty miracle or sign by Jesus. If this is true then the real problem is elsewhere.

God will continue to perform his miracles and mighty works among men irrespective whether they come to see them or not. It is not he who is to be blamed if men are not seeing it.  Men will continue to be so busy with worldly affairs and entertaining themselves that they would have no time for God or his works. Today such sign are on display even on select T.V. channels and internet: how many of us have the time to watch and repent of their ways?

Prayer: Lord, in my busy schedule help me to spare some time for you so that you may perform your mighty work beginning with me.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us