DAILY MEDITATION: “He himself knew what he was going to do”

Liturgical day: Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Gospel text (Jn 6,1-15): Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

“He himself knew what he was going to do”

Fr. Stefanus Albertus HERRY NUGROH
(Bandung, Indonesia)

Today, the Gospel reminds us of a miracle in front of five thousand men when “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted” (Jn 6, 11). This miracle was not merely a need to show off but held a much deeper meaning. Jesus was driven by God’s love for those people. We talk about faith and love every time we try to understand what propels Jesus towards action.

The large number of people were moved by faith and trust in Him. Coming from everywhere, they needed to fulfill their hunger and thirst for the truth and love of God which they sought and found in person. Jesus saw what they needed.

We Christians are able to manifest God’s love right now and wherever we are. One should start by respecting our neighbors to understand what their needs are. From there one may emulate Jesus: endeavor to improve the life of neighbors. These acts are not to be taken lightly. It is no less than real salvation from God through your tiny hands.

To the children in Bulgaria, Pope Francis remarked in 2019: “Some miracles can only take place if we have a heart like yours: a heart capable of sharing, dreaming, feeling gratitude, trusting and respecting other people.”

The Lord needs our tiny hands as His partner to perform some miracles. However, we should also consider the risk of being a partner of the Lord: it may drive other people to give you positions of power. If that position helps you to help them, why not? If, the position keeps you from helping, you need another place to continue God’s mission as Jesus did. “Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone” (Jn 6, 15).

Source: evangeli.net