August 28, 2024 - 17th Sunday “B
2 Kings 4:42-44; Eph 4:1-6; John 6:1-15
Homily
In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul invites us, or rather begs us, to faithfully follow the call we have received. For him, this means living in humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another with love. It also means keeping unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Now, the first and third readings teach us that such unity is not possible unless we share with one another, and the poor are fed, and unless, on the level of all humanity, all the poor are admitted to the banquet of the nations. We find several allusions to the poor in John's Gospel account. For example, the bread distributed by Jesus is not made from wheat, but from barley, which was the food of the poor.
Today, a very large proportion of humanity lives in the worst form of servitude, hunger. Hunger - the most effective weapon of mass destruction - kills tens of millions of people every year, far more than AIDS, HIV, malaria and all other infectious diseases put together. This servitude is to a very large extent the result of the control of the world economy, and therefore of vital resources, by a few major national and multinational powers. Jesus' solution to the situation of his time will tell us what solution is needed today.
Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd following him, and perceived their need for food, even before anyone had mentioned it. Don't we need to do the same today: see the needs of millions of hungry people before “humanitarian disasters” have to be used by advertising networks to arouse our emotions? In the same way, in our immediate surroundings, and in our everyday lives.
In the Gospel we have just heard, Philip, to whom Jesus first explains the situation of a hungry crowd, cannot conceive of a solution other than monetary and mathematical: “the wages of two hundred days would not be enough for everyone to have a little piece of bread”. It's exactly the same logic that organizes meetings of donor countries, to raise funds to feed people reduced to starvation by wars that have cost enormously more. For Jesus, this is not a solution. It would only maintain the servitude and humiliation of the populations to whom we “generously” distribute their strictly calculated daily ration.
The solution proposed by Andrew in today's Gospel, and the one chosen by Jesus, is one of sharing. Jesus asks what they have brought and tells them to share it. Then there's enough for everyone. The real miracle was not the multiplication, but the willingness to share. What's more, those present were not called upon to line up in a queue to receive their pittance from the hands of generous benefactors; they were invited to lie down, as was customary at banquets and especially at the Passover meal, to enjoy a meal in dignity with fellow guests. And when all had reclined in the abundant grass (a sign of the abundance of the Kingdom), Jesus himself distributed the food to them, as a host does with his guests.
When Jesus gets the crowd to share the little food they've brought, there's plenty for everyone. The problem of world hunger, now as then, has always been one of fair distribution rather than resources. Even today, when 6 per cent of the world's population consumes 90 per cent of its natural resources, this is not a problem of resources or demographics. It's a problem of justice.
During this Eucharistic celebration, let us ask for ourselves, and also for the leaders of the nations, the light and courage necessary to put this message of Jesus into practice in our lives, so that all those in need may be helped, and so that all peoples may finally be admitted to the banquet of the nations.
Armand VEILLEUX