17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There is a certain fast-food company that sells hamburgers. In their advertising, they claim that their product has the ability to satisfy our cravings. In fact, several television ads depict their hamburger calling people up on the phone, ostensibly getting them to stop whatever it is they are doing to satisfy their craving. Nothing can resist them! Is this company creative? Perhaps; but a better question might be, is their product fulfilling? For a brief period our hunger is satisfied, but as with all urges and cravings, they soon return.
Today’s Gospel reading is the only miracle story told in all four Gospels, the feeding of the five thousand. It is theorized by some that one aspect of the miracle was Jesus’ belief in our ability to share. As the baskets of fish and bread were passed, the people took what they needed but shared some of what they had, as well. But the greater symbolism to take away from today’s reading is that Jesus Christ, the bread of life, removes all hunger and all needs and continues to nourish us forever. All that we crave truly resides in the loving arms of the Son of God.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2002), God has placed in all of us a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy. “God immediately touches and directly moves the heart of man.” The five thousand people had finally arrived at their destination, seeking to have their souls fed through the teachings of Jesus. And just as he instructed them to lie down in the grass, rest and be fed, so too are we to take this and every Sunday as an opportunity to rest, reflect, and be nourished by the Word of God.
©2009 Liturgical Publications Inc
Used with permission
