Gospel: John 6:1-15
After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when he healed the sick. So he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”
Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”
So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Jesus realized that they would come and take him by force to make him king; so he fled to the hills by himself.
Reflection:
"Fully human and fully divine."
During the Second World War there was a shortage of coffee which led people to invent substitutes. One such invention was ‘barley coffee’. The roasted barley produces something like the taste of coffee, but for those who like the real thing, it’s a poor substitute. Barley is mentioned in the Gospel as the type of grain used in the loaf. It seems an inconsequential detail, but it’s there to indicate that the loaf is not made of the finest wheat. It adds a further layer to the message, in that the offering made to Christ, small in number and poor in quality, is turned into rich abundance. Christ continues to act in our lives, transforming what we offer him into graced deeds, however meagre our offering might be. Saint Athanasius defended the truth that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, consubstantial with the Father. Thus, the Son of God took on human nature with its frailties and redeemed it by his death on the cross. Having ascended, he has brought that human nature into the glory of heaven where he awaits us. And so, the barley loaf of frail humanity is turned into the finest bread.
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