Commentary on the Gospel of
The feeding of the five thousand is one of the episodes that we can find in all the Gospels, in one form or the other. The miracle of feeding the five thousand underscores a number of things regarding God’s attention to the human person. Sometimes, it is helpful to make reference to the Old Testament in order to understand the New. While God did all sorts of miracles, including the ten plagues to deliver the people of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, the feeding of the Israelites with manner in the desert was one of the most decisive of those miracles because nourishment would dictate their death or survival. God showed up with the manner which nourished them for a significant period of time. In the new testament, Jesus did the miracle of healing, nature mircles, exorcism and even raising from the dead, however, the miracle of feeding people underscores Jesus’ attention to one of the most significant and decisive aspects of human existence, i.e., nourishment which determines survival.
This is probably why in the Gospel of John, the miracle of feeding of the masses precedes the discourse of the bread of life which discusses heavenly food that sustains for life eternal. This miracle shows that God’s attention is turned to every aspect of human life and none is considered too mundane for his attention. Jesus understood that the people who have been fed spiritually, needed to be fed bodily too. One who is not alive would not listen to a homily. Jesus calls us today to give attention to people’s social welfare. No single aspect of human suffering should be considered too mundane for the attention of a missionary. We should preach the Bible with one hand and be capable of giving bread with the other hand whenever we have the means.
