Commentary on the Gospel of
Francis Xavier
The world is rich, very rich, very very rich. But many people in the world are poor, very poor. In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called “absolute poverty”. In some countries, approximately 50% of their population live with utter poverty. Why? It is not because the world does not have enough food to feed its 7 billion people. It does have. But the world does not have many people like Jesus who have compassion for other and who can inspire to share what they have with others. Like the disciples of Jesus, we often raise the question, “Where could we ever get enough bread?” Jesus knows well that everybody can be fed well if we open our hearts and share with others what we have. Jesus beginning to share the seven loaves and a few fish with others opened the hearts of so many people who were with him but did not want to share with others. Possibly, Jesus’ action might have shamed them and they too began to give all that they had to Jesus. Thus, Jesus was able to satisfy everyone and they had left over of seven baskets full. Let us remember that all we have and possess more than what we really need, belongs to the poor. It is not charity but justice demands that we give the surplus to the poor so that his huger shall be satisfied. As Julius Nyerere says, “Poverty is not a problem. The problem is unjust sharing of prosperity”. Are we ready to share what we have with the poor and the hungry?
