The first reading from the second book of Kings tells of the prophet Elisha, during a time of famine. Elisha was offered twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain. Elisha said: "Give it to the people and let them eat." But his servant objected. "How can I set this before a hundred people?" But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people and let them eat." And they ate and had some left. This little known story of Elisha is full of insights about how God works in our lives. Elisha puts his own need aside and prefers to think of his people. Elisha relies not on what he has but on what God can do with what he has, and his gift is multiplied! If we hold on to the little that we have it satisfies neither us nor others.
There was this rich lady who lived on her own and led an impeccable life as far as the externals of religion were concerned. She went to mass daily, and found little or nothing to confess when she went to confession. Eventually she died and to her horror and surprise found that she had been assigned to hell. She complained bitterly explaining how she had lived a virtuous and utterly blameless life on earth. Satan inquired of Peter and was told there was no mistake. But Peter conceded that if she could think of one single act of kindness, heaven would be open to her. The woman returned saying: "One day," she said, "as I was cooking the dinner a beggar came to the back door. He was hungry and I gave him an onion." Peter checked and found that it was true and said to Satan. "We are going to lower the onion into your department at the end of a rope. Tell her to clasp it and then we'll pull her up here." Needless to say the woman grabbed the onion and suddenly her feet left the nether region. As she was being pulled up, some of her companions, seeing the opportunity of getting out with her, clung to her. "Let go, let go," she shrieked, kicking out at them, "that's my onion." With these words, "That's my onion," the rope snapped and she fell back, with her onion, into the arms of Satan, who said to her, "That rope was strong enough to save both you and your brothers, but it was not strong enough to save you alone."
James A Feeban from 'Story Power'
The Gospel tells us that the large crowd that followed Jesus was hungry, not only for food and drink but there was a deeper hunger that Jesus was satisfying. It was Jesus who was concerned about their need and said to Phillip, "Where are we going to buy bread for these people to eat?" Jesus knew what he would do but he wanted to see what his disciples would do. For Phillip feeding the crowds presented a problem that had no solution. Phillip's attitude is often our own, each time we come across a problem. The problems are too big and we and our resources are too small, so we don't even attempt to look at the problem. We do not have the resources or the time to deal with them! Then there is Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, who sees the problem but he also sees some solution. "Let's bring what we have together and put it all in the hands of Jesus." He knows a boy who has only five barley loaves and two fish. He knows that this is woefully inadequate but he brings it all the same to Jesus. Jesus could have fed the multitude without the help of his disciples and their meager resources but He needed their involvement; he needed whatever they could offer. The same call goes out to us believers today as we face the many hungers that people around us have. Too often we are thinking of the immensity of the problem. We are ashamed of the little resources we have, not realizing that God can only work with us and through us when we know we can't manage on our own. When we share the little that we have, others share as well and God does the rest. Those without anything ended up with more than they could eat.
Sharing
For the past few years I had the privilege of accompanying a disabled children's picnic to Lourdes. One of the days involved a trip to the mountains for a picnic, and fun and games. Everybody is supplied with food and drink, which is packed in several large cardboard boxes. On my first trip one of the groups discovered, when they got to the mountain, that they had left all their food and drink back in the hotel. There was no chance of getting sufficient refreshments locally, so there was only one obvious solution. Those of us with food and drink examined what we had, and selected one or two items which we gave to those without food and drink. As there were many groups involved, it so happened that those without anything ended up with more than they could eat, while all the rest of us were more than happy with what we had.
Jack McArdle in 'And that's the Gospel Truth'
Do it now!
There was a rich man who complained to his friend thus: The people do not like me. They say I am very stingy and greedy, but I have made my will. I have willed the entire property to a charitable institution. The friend replied, "Have you heard of the story of the pig and the cow?" A pig came to the cow and complained: "People speak so well of you and your friendliness. It is true that you give milk. But they profit from me much more. They have meat and sausages of different types. Even my feet and hands they eat. Still nobody loves me as they love you. For everybody I am a pig, nothing more. Why?" The cow reflected and said, "Perhaps it is because I give while I am alive, you give, or rather it is taken away, after you are dead!" -Is it not folly to postpone the good we can do here and now for later?
Anonymous
Generosity of heart!
A priest celebrating Mass and preaching on today's gospel referred to the miracle of the loaves and fishes as a miracle of generosity. He pointed out the generosity of the boy who was willing to share what he had and then there was the generosity of Jesus himself. The priest left the altar at the end of Mass and as he was un-vesting in the sacristy an elderly woman came to enquire if anyone had left a shopping bag. She said she had brought it to church with her, but now couldn't find it. The sacristan gave her the bad news: no one had left a bag there. The priest was expecting her to say "What kind of a person would steal from another person in the house of God?" But she said no such thing. Without a trace of anger or bitterness, she said simply, "Maybe the person who took it needs it more than I do." "What was in the bag?" the priest asked. "Two loaves of bread." the woman replied. Her answer delighted the priest. But it also humbled him, because he knew that in her position he would not have been so generous in his response to the theft of his property. He was also humbled for another reason. He was preaching generosity; this woman was practicing it. Hers was generosity of the heart.
Flor McCarthy, in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies'
Together we can make it
Sadhu Sunder Singh and a friend were once travelling through the mountains of North India. Winter storms were howling around them, and soon they were caught in a blizzard, through which they battled with great difficulty. Presently, they saw a man lying by the roadside, apparently dead. The Sadhu wished to stay to give help, but his friend, protesting that the effort would be unavailing, passed on his way. Displaying the spirit of the good Samaritan, the Sadhu chaffed the hands and feet of the prostate man, and finally lifted him on his back and trudged painfully through the snow. The warmth of the man's body, added to that of his own had a reviving and sustaining effect on the body. After a mile's further progress, they found another body lying by the wayside. It was the Sadhu's companion, frozen to death. He had not sufficient warmth alone to fight the storm.Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
Feeding the poor
An old monk prayed many years for a vision from God to strengthen his faith, but it never came. He had almost given up hope when, one day, a vision of Christ's face appeared in his cell. The old monk was overjoyed. But then, right in the middle of the vision, the monastery bell rang. The ringing of the bell meant it was time to feed the poor who gathered daily at the monastery gate. How could he leave now? What should he do - stay with his heavenly Visitor, or go to his duty of distributing help to the needy. If he failed to show up with food, the unfortunate people would leave quietly, thinking the monastery had nothing to give them that day. The old monk was torn between his earthly duty and his heavenly vision. But, before the bell stopped ringing, the monk made his decision. With heavy heart, he went off to feed the poor. Nearly an hour later, the old monk returned to his room. When he opened the door, he could hardly believe his eyes. The room was filled with heavenly brightness. There stood Christ shining as the sun, smiling upon him with divine tenderness. As the monk dropped to his knees in thanksgiving, the vision said to him, "My son, had you not gone off to feed the poor, I would not have stayed".
Bel San Louis in 'Stories of life and laughter'
*******
From the Sermons.com
John 6:1-21 - "Are You a Satisfied Customer?"
John 6:1-21 - "The 4 Spiritual Flaws" by Leonard Sweet
For so very many people, life is just like that. There is a never ending quest for fulfillment. There are so many people in this world who have found success, but they have not found significance.
This world is filled with people who are desperately trying to find purpose and meaning, fulfillment and significance in their life. The truth is when it comes to living and life, most people are not satisfied customers. It was the great philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, who once said, "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation."
Want to attract young, floundering, post-high school people to a life of faith, fulfillment, and commitment? Would your first thought be to offer that age group a solid set of "divine directives"-- aka "Four Spiritual Laws?"
3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
These guidelines continue to be the mainstay of the evangelical outreach of the Campus Crusade for Christ to this day.
A few years ago in the city of Chicago, a crowd of community residents did something unusual. They picketed the churches in their community to do something other than have church. They picketed them to be church. They seemed to say the Christ you claim and proclaim each Sunday seems more than enough in the sanctuary, but never seems to get out in our neighbor-hoods. Why are you open only on Sunday? Need happens 24/7. There are six other days in the week, but you're closed.
Ozzie E. Smith, Jr., More Than Enough
A few years ago I served as pastor of Lavington Church in Nairobi. One day three young men came to my office. Although they were cheerful, they looked tired and wore out. Their tennis shoes were dusty and their clothes needed a wash. The first thing they asked when they came into my office was whether they could sing a verse of "Amazing Grace" in their language. They sang acappella in parts. It was so beautiful. Sounded like angel music, the kind of singing that tugs at the soul and brings tears to your eyes out of the blue. And then they told me their story. They were university students from Rwanda, 23-year olds. Two of them had been medical students. When war broke out in their country, they had escaped with only the clothes on their back and the song in their heart. They had walked for weeks without a change of clothes with no place to sleep. They had often gone hungry, they said, and they had no clue where any of their family members and friends were. They said they had learned to be grateful for their life each day and they had begun singing "Amazing Grace" as a prayer as they walked. They had seen so much violence and death and cruelty that they could not find words to pray so instead they sang "Amazing Grace" as they walked and they said, "God knew and that was enough."
On that afternoon in my office, these three young men had come to church asking for assistance. They said they had found a room to rent for eight U.S. dollars a month. They said they did not need beds; they would gladly sleep on the floor. They were asking our congregation to help them with a month's rent. Eight dollars and some money for food, a total of $12 a month. I asked the three students to come back in a few days so I could meet with the church leaders, and when I met my church leaders, they all agreed it was a great ministry. But someone talked about the budget. Someone said $8 was not a lot, but if you multiplied by 12 months, the next thing you know, it would be impossible. And someone else suggested a very Andrew-like idea. "Let's have a special project," they said. "Let's have a special offering. Let's tell the congregation about the situation, have these young men sing one Sunday morning, and whoever in the congregation is willing to help, could donate outside the usual tithing and offertory." The church leaders talked late into the night. Some were even concerned that so many refugees were in the city that the word would spread our church was involved in paying rent and buying groceries and we would be swamped with needs. Some wanted to keep church and revivals only a spiritual level. No picnics, no food, no dinner.
As I listened to my church leaders, I learned so much about the myth of limited resources. We often think there's just enough for some of us. Some have to go without. We're worried we'll run out, but guess what? God's world has enough for all of us. Someone has put it well, saying, "There is enough for all our needs, but there is not enough for all our greed."
Grace Imathiu, A Picnic on the Mountainside
In the 1988 Olympics, the world assumed that the United States would be victorious in the 400-meter relay. They simply were the best. The gun cracked and they were off and running. After the last curve the unthinkable happened. The United States was ahead by 10 meters with no real competition in sight. And then, with victory in their grasp, it happened. They dropped the baton. The thousands in the stands gasped in disbelief. The United States team--sleek, muscular, and fast as leopards, lost the race. Why? Someone dropped the baton.
I would hate for us as a church to be the people who dropped the baton. What is God calling us to be and to do as God's people in this time and this place? It's not a question of resources but a question of faith.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Praying to Jesus how to help them, he got an idea. Calling the Indians around a campfire he preached God's loving care in Christ. Then he said, "I'm going to feed you by making some stone soup. Yummm! It's tasty! I grew up on it! And you'll like it just fine!" Then he opened his backpack and produced the rock he'd found that morning.
The Indians scoffed, "Stone soup! Why that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
"Trust me," the missionary assured them. "See! I've brought the stone. But I'm going to need a pot to put it in." An Indian woman quickly volunteered her pot.
"And I'll need about two large buckets of water to boil the stone in." A man, shaking his head, brought the water. So, in went the stone, in went the water, and over the fire the pot was suspended. Curious now, the villagers began to gather around the pot, peering into its contents. The missionary began to stir the pot and drool. "You know, stone soup sure is good with carrots!" To which an Indian said, "I've got six carrots!" He quickly fetched them and they were cut up into the pot. Then the missionary smelled deeply of the bubbly broth and sighed, "Some potatoes sure would add to the flavor." From pockets and other hiding places came dozens of spuds. They were quickly added to the soup. Soon people were bringing onions, celery, and bits of meat to top off the pot of stone soup. And within the hour a community was formed around that stew pot. All ate. And all were filled and they heard the story of Jesus Christ.
Believe John 6:1-14 as a miracle of Jesus in multiplying the bread and fish, if you will, or believe Jesus' miracle in the selfish human heart causing the multitudes to share. But above all, remember this: The next time you see a need or feel inadequate, don't look at the hillside, look in the basket. Don't count the difficulties presented. Look at the resources possessed. Don't measure your problems. Measure God's power!
Stephen M. Crotts, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company
____________________________
by Leonard Sweet
Looking at this man it is unbelievable that cancer struck him in September 1996. He went through brain surgery and later chemotherapy so aggressive that it destroyed some of his muscle structure, burned parts of skin, and gave him permanent kidney damage. And yet the best bicyclists in the world have chased him for years. He is the pacesetter. He is the measure by which all others gauge their success. He is the unique one. All others are taught by his example.
Philip stood looking out at the masses that were now approaching. I’m not sure what was on his mind, perhaps thrilled by the success they were having. Jesus, watching over Philip’s shoulder, asks, “Philip, where shall we find bread for these people to eat?” Philips gives a realistic appraisal of the situation: Eight months wages would not be enough to feed everyone so much as a little nibble. But we are let in on a little secret. Jesus is testing and I think teasing Philip a bit here. Jesus already knows he will feed them by multiplying five small barley loaves and two small fish.
Jesus is ahead of Philip. He is the pacesetter. He is out in front of them all, minutes ahead sizing up the situation providing the solutions before we even know what the problems are. He is the unique one, the measure by which all others gauge their lives.
The feeding of the five thousand is a miracle on a grand scale but if we concentrate too hard on the miracle we will miss the message in the background.
3. What are we to learn from the long awaited messiah?
Mustard seeds.
Sparrows.
Grains of wheat.
Yeast.
Pennies.
Sprouting seeds.
Hebrews.
Children.
_______________________
Lowered Expectation
What seems to be impossible in your life these days, my friend? Some task you are facing in your personal life? Or maybe as you look out on our weary world and society today, you are prompted to ask, "Who is going to accomplish all the things that seem so impossible in our world today?"
In such times Jesus Christ is asking you and me to join with him in being partners in the impossible. To his friend and follower, Philip, Jesus says, "Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?" An impossible task, indeed!
But as we look at this question of Jesus in the Bible this morning, let's try and take hold of the encouraging truth that emerges, and it is this: Christ never asks us to do the impossible unless he himself provides the power and resources to get the job done. So today let us confidently answer his call, for he is our divine partner in doing the impossible.
Richard W. Patt, Partners in the Impossible, CSS Publishing Company
1: Poverty and hunger in the midst wealth and
prosperity: In the Asian, African, and Latin American countries, well
over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called “absolute
poverty.” Every year 15 million children die of hunger. The Indian subcontinent
has nearly half the world’s hungry people. Africa and the rest of Asia together
have approximately 40%, and the remaining hungry people are found in Latin
America and other parts of the world. Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion –
a majority of humanity – live on less than $1 per day while the world’s 358
billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries
with 45 percent of the world’s people. There are three reasons for this
situation: 1) The unwillingness of the rich people and wealthy countries to share
their blessings with poor and the needy. 2) The unjust distribution of wealth,
enabling the rich to become richer and let the poor to get poorer. 3) The
exorbitant military spending of rich and poor nations. Most countries spend
more than half their national income for the military. For example, the U.S.
spends 54% of its income for the military while allotting only 6% for
education, 6% for housing and 3% for social security and unemployment benefits.
Annual military expense of the U. S. for 2014-15 was $581 billion and, for the
same time-period, that of China was $129 billion and that of Russia was $70
billion. We must remember that for the price of one cruise missile ($1.41
million), a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years.
100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or
what the world spends on its military in two days. (Each stealth bomber costs
$2.1 billion). Although the food in the world should suffice to feed God’s
children, it will never suffice to fill the greed of men. By describing how
Jesus miraculously fed five thousand people using the sacrificial sharing of
his lunch by a boy, today’s Gospel challenges us to plan what we can do to feed
the hungry in the world around us by changing the way we live, personally and
as a community. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2: “No my son, the pigs of my village don’t pray before
meals!” Monsignor Arthur Tonne has a funny story on today’s Gospel lesson.
A village farmer stopped at a restaurant in the nearby town and sat near a
group of young fellows who were acting up, shouting at the cook and heckling
the waitress. When his meal was set before him the old farmer bowed his head to
offer a prayer. One of the smart-alecks thought he would have some fun with the
old farmer. So he shouted in a loud voice that could be heard by everyone,
“Hey, Pop, does everyone do this where you come from?” Calmly the old man
turned towards the lad with an innocent smile and replied in an equally loud
voice: “No son, our pigs don’t.” Today’s Gospel tells us that, before feeding
the five thousand, Jesus took the loaves of bread, gave thanks (to God His
Father) and distributed them. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3: A bag of rice to share: From her
personal experience, Mother Teresa relates a story demonstrating the generosity
of the poor, rising from their personal experience of hunger and poverty, as
contrasting with the rich who have had no such experience to teach them.
Learning of a poor Hindu family in Calcutta who had been starving
for many days, Mother Theresa visited them and brought a big parcel of rice to
the mother. She was surprised to see how the mother divided the rice
into two equal portions and went out with one bundle to give it to her Moslem
neighbor. When she returned, Mother Theresa asked her why she had
done such a generous deed. The woman replied: “My family can manage with
half the rice in this bag. My neighbor’s family has several children and
they are also starving.” Today’s Gospel tells the story of a
small boy who showed this same kind of generosity. By sharing his small
lunch (which consisted of five barley loaves and two dried fish), he became the
instrument in Jesus’ working of a miracle that fed thousands. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4: “Me … go into a Protestant church? That would be a
sin!” Back in 1950, before the Second Vatican Council had urged
Catholics to have friendlier relations with their separated brothers of other
Churches, Catholics were regularly reminded that they should not attend
non-Catholic worship except when some duty required it. That year, Douglas
Woodruff, the brilliant and witty columnist of the famous English Catholic
journal, The Tablet, told the story of a robber who had lately
been arrested for taking money from the poor-box of Westminster Cathedral.
(This is the Cathedral Church of the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster,
located in London). When the judge questioned him, the “perpetrator” admitted
that he had also stolen from the poor-boxes of several other London Churches.
He ticked off a whole list of them. “These are all Catholic Churches,” said the
judge, puzzled. “How does it happen that you didn’t rob the poor-boxes in any
Protestant churches?” The thief bridled. “Me … go into a Protestant church?
That would be a sin! I’m a good Catholic, I am!” — St. Paul certainly did
emphasize unity in the Faith: “There is one Lord one Faith, one Baptism”
(Eph 4:6). But something was out of kilter in the interpretation put on
Christian unity by this staunch Catholic burglar! — Father Robert F. McNamara.
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5. “What would Jesus do?” I heard about a little
boy who got into a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get
the last brownie. Their mother overheard this discussion and came in to try to
resolve the fuss. Her two children, both extremely upset, each wanted that last
brownie. So sensing the opportunity to teach a deeper spiritual truth, the
mother looked at her children and asked that very relevant question…”What would
Jesus do?” Well, that little boy immediately answered, “That’s easy. Jesus
would just break that brownie and make 5,000 more!”
6. “What’s the expiration date on it?” It’s like the
story of a little girl in Milwaukee who had had her tonsils out and was staying
with her grandmother while her parents were at work. One day she complained of
a sore throat.
“I have some holy water from Lourdes that I got from my mother,” the
grandmother said. “Should I put some on your neck?” The girl thought for a
moment and then asked, “What’s the expiration date on it?”
7. Sharing everything: A young man saw an
elderly couple sitting down to lunch at McDonald’s. He noticed that they had
ordered one meal, and an extra drink cup. As he watched, the gentleman
carefully divided the hamburger in half, counted out the fries, one for him,
one for her, until each had half of them. Then he poured half of the soft drink
into the extra cup and set that in front of his wife. The old man then began to
eat, and his wife sat watching, with her hands folded in her lap. The young man
decided to ask if they would allow him to purchase another meal for them so
that they didn’t have to split theirs. The old gentleman said, “Oh no. We’ve
been married 50 years, and everything has always been and will always be
shared, 50/50.” The young man then asked the wife if she was not going to eat,
and she replied, “It’s his turn with the teeth.”
8. Grace at dinner party: A woman was hosting a
dinner party and at the table she asked her six-year-old daughter to say grace.
“But I wouldn’t know what to say,” the girl responded. “Just say what you hear
Mommy say,” replied the mother. The little girl nodded, bowed her head, and
prayed, “Dear Lord, why in the world did I invite all these people to dinner?”
18- Additional anecdotes:
1) That’s a miracle. Rembrandt could take a
two-dollar canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it a priceless masterpiece.
That is art. John D. Rockefeller could take a worthless check, sign his name to
it, and make it worth a million dollars. That’s capital. A mechanic can take a
piece of scrap metal and bend and shape it into a $500 automobile part. That is
skill. — Jesus Christ can take the commonest bread and dried fish, bless and
multiply it, making a banquet for 5,000! That is a miracle. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
2) “I wish I could be a brother like that:” Paul
had received a special pre-Christmas gift from his rich brother. It was a
beautiful new car – fully loaded and ready to go. On Christmas Eve, when Paul
came out of his office, a street kid was walking around the shiny new car,
admiring it. “Is this your car, mister?” the kid asked. When he replied that it
was and that his brother had given it to him for Christmas, the boy said, “You
mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn’t cost you anything? Free? For
nothing? Gosh, I wish…” The boy hesitated, and Paul knew what he was about to
say. He had heard it many times over the past few days. He was going to wish he
had a brother like that. But what the boy said shocked Paul. ”I wish“,
the boy said, “I wish I could be a brother like that.” — We
can be a brother like that or a sister like that. All it takes is that we offer
ourselves and what we have, to God. All it takes is that we cease to worry
about how little we have and begin instead to think about what it is that we
can offer to others, as the little boy in today’s Gospel story did by sharing his
bread and fish to Jesus Who fed the multitude. (“Chicken Soup” series). Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
3) “That’s no miracle! I could do that!” I heard
about a young preacher who was going to preach his very first sermon, and he
was going to preach from the text that I will be preaching on this morning. As
he introduced it he said, “I want to talk to you about how Jesus fed five men
with five thousand loaves of bread and two thousand fish.” Well, there was a
man in the Church that loved to intimidate preachers, and he jumped up and
said, “Great day, that’s no miracle, I could do that!” This young preacher was
just shattered and couldn’t even preach the sermon. Well, the next Sunday, he
started over with the same sermon and announced it, this time correctly: “I
want to talk to you today about how Jesus fed five thousand men with five
loaves and two fish.” He looked down at the critical Church member and said, “I
guess you could do that too?” The man said, “Great day, I could do that easy!”
The preacher said, “How?” He said, “With what was left over from last Sunday!”
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
4) “May I have some chocolate chip cookies?” Paul
Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his
mother. Before they entered she had certain instructions for the little boy:
“Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, today, so don’t even
ask.” She put him in the cart and off they went up and down the aisles. He was
doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. Seeing all those
chocolate chip cookies was just too much and he said, “Mom, can I have some
chocolate chip cookies?” Mom said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not
going to get any, that’s all.” They continued down the aisles, but in their
search for certain items she had to back track and they ended up in the cookie
aisle again. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I
told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down and be quiet.” Finally, they
arrived at the checkout. The little boy sensed that the end was in sight, that
this might be his last chance. He stood up on the seat and shouted in his
loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?”
Everybody in the checkout lines laughed and applauded. And that little boy got
his chocolate chip cookies. And not just one package. The other shoppers were so
moved by the little boy’s outburst that he and his mother went home with 23
boxes of chocolate chip cookies. (http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Sermon_Fodder)
That little boy experienced much the same thing as the boy in the passage for
the message this morning. They both experienced an unexpected miracle. Let’s
look at the passage and then you’ll see what I mean. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
5) “Lord, what a cow!” An old prospector came
into a saloon in frontier California and ordered a glass of milk with a shot of
whiskey in it. While the bartender was fixing his drink, the old prospector
wandered over to speak to some of his friends. Before he came back, a man came
in wearing a black threadbare coat. He walked up to the bartender and timidly
said, “Sir, I’m a poor traveling Methodist circuit rider. I’ve just made it
across the desert. I’m bone dry. Could you let me have that foamy glass of milk
I see you’ve just poured?” “Take the milk,” said the bartender with a twinkle
in his eye. “We’re glad to have you in our town. Take that glass of milk and
drink it up.” The preacher drank that milk real slow savoring every drop. Then
he looked up towards the ceiling and with a smile on his face he declared,
“Lord, what a cow!” — I hope nobody’s offended by that little piece of humor,
but this morning we want to talk for a few moments about the bounteous goodness
of God. And we want to say, “Lord, what a bounteous God!” Our text tells the
story of the feeding of the five thousand. It is a marvelous story of God’s
provision for human need. The focus is on bread, but the lesson is about all
our needs. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
6) When they had the security of bread for tomorrow they
slept like babies: Immediately after fighting had stopped in World War
II, American soldiers gathered up many hungry and homeless children and placed
them in tent cities. Many of them were malnourished and in need of medical
care. The soldiers shared their bread with them. However, the soldiers noticed
the children were afraid to go to sleep at night. One of the soldiers tried an
experiment after dinner–he gave the children a piece of bread to hold. The
result was astounding. When they had the security of bread for tomorrow they
slept like babies. Security took away fear. — Carl Jung, one of our century’s
greatest psychiatrists, has said that the central neurosis of our age is
emptiness. Humanity’s problem is a spiritual problem. In this story, we see the
answer Jesus gives to that need. Carlo Caretto in his outstanding book, The
God Who Comes, writes “Jesus is Life, and He knows His creature can do
nothing without Him; He knows the child would die of hunger without bread. But
our bread is God Himself, and God gives Himself to us as Food in Holy
Communion.” Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
7) 300-calorie-a-day diet : Some years ago I had
a friend who was on a 300-calorie-a-day diet under a doctor’s supervision. 300
calories! That boggles the mind! I inhale 300 calories just smelling the aroma
of a good pizza. But my friend on the three-hundred-calorie-a-day diet lost
sixty pounds, and as a result reached his near-ideal weight in a very short
time. But one cannot subsist indefinitely on a 300-calorie-a-day- diet. Sooner
or later there must come and end to the dieting, for starving oneself in this
manner is highly dangerous. In like manner, to starve oneself spiritually can
be equally dangerous. Perhaps that is what Jesus was getting at when He spoke
those strange words, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (Jn 6:35) . Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
8) God’s extravagance: Consider our universe. Did you
know that if you could bore a hole in the sun and somehow put in 1.2 million
earths, you would still have space left over for 4.3 million moons. The sun is
865,000 miles in diameter and 93 million miles away from earth. Pluto, still in
our solar system but in the opposite direction, is 2.7 billion miles away. And
there are billions of such solar systems. What are they there for? As best we
can determine, they have no other purpose than to give us light, and so joy, in
the darkness and, perhaps, to serve as a challenge to humanity to keep moving
ever outward and upward. Galileo once put it this way, “The sun, which has all
those planets revolving about it and depending on it for their orderly
functions, can ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the world
to do.” — And it doesn’t! God has brought into being a magnificent creation with
the sole purpose of providing for His children’s needs. Isn’t that
mind-boggling? But why such extravagance, why such bounty, why such seeming
waste? We find a case of Christ’s extravagance in today’s Gospel in feeding
5000 people. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
9) “Isn’t this wonderful?” Jesus wants to
prepare us for the extravagance of Heaven by providing the miraculous feeding
described in today’s Gospel. It reminds me of two fellows newly arrived in
Heaven who were walking the golden streets of God’s celestial realm. There was
more beauty and more splendor and more joy there than they had ever dreamed
imaginable. One of them turned to the other and said, “Isn’t this wonderful?”
The other replied, “Yes, and to think we could have gotten here ten years
sooner if we hadn’t eaten all that oat bran.” Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
10) Waste! Waste! Waste! A test in a western
state showed that the average family throws away between eighty and one hundred
dollars’ worth of food annually. Unused food thrown away is waste. Multiply
that by all the households in America plus all the unused food thrown away by chain
stores, nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, and restaurants, all in the name of
public health, and we are reversing the miracle of the five thousand. — Waste!
Waste! Waste! Another thing to consider is that we have regulated the farmers
to produce less and less in this country. Surely there is a way to exercise
more effective stewardship in these matters. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
11) Free-Food Tree: Appalled at the
wastefulness of their students, two elementary school teachers in Santa Cruz,
California, planted a young sapling on the school’s campus and named it the
Free-Food Tree. Rather than discard their uneaten or unwanted sandwiches, the
children were encouraged to place them under the tree so that students who had
lost their lunch or could not afford one could help themselves. Some children
began to bring an extra sandwich from home so that they’d have one to put under
the Free-Food Tree. Eventually, the supply of donated food was sufficient to
nourish all the school’s hungry youngsters with enough left over to offer to
the homeless who lived in the city park near the school. — In addition to
learning not to waste their share of this world’s goods, the students had their
first encounter with hunger and began to understand what they could do to
alleviate it, a valuable lesson indeed, considering the fact that every
hour 1,500 of this world’s children die of hunger or hunger-related
causes. (Celebration; also found in Sanchez files). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
12) The victims (martyrs) of the Great Hunger: With
the failure of the potato crop in 1845, Ireland was sent into a downward spiral
of starvation, poverty, disease, and death. Subsequent annual crop failures
brought even more suffering. As the Great Hunger progressed, more and more
Irish were made destitute and homeless, without any means of obtaining food.
The truly sad truth about the Great Hunger is that the British continued to ship
food from Ireland while millions of Irish starved. In March of 1849, over six
hundred starving people made their way into the town of Louisburgh in search of
food through outdoor relief or a ticket that would admit them to the workhouse.
They met with the Receiving Officer at the Louisburgh workhouse. He told them
he had no authority to grant them food or a ticket, but they could appeal to
two of the Board of Guardians, Colonel Hograve and Mr. Lecky, who were meeting
the next day at Delphi Lodge, located twelve miles south of Louisburgh. The
crowd spent the night in Louisburg. Weakened from their trip, many of the 600
men, women and children who slept in the streets that night died. The next day,
five hundred of those that remained trudged through the mud and rain along a
goat track in the direction of Delphi Lodge, crossing the Glankeen River at
flood stage and through the mountain pass. Still more died of exhaustion along
the way. They arrived wet and cold at Delphi Lodge the next afternoon. The
Board of Guardian members were at lunch when the people arrived and amazingly,
they could not be disturbed. The starving crowd was told to wait. A few more
died of exhaustion while waiting. When they had finished their meal the crowd
was advised to return to Louisburgh. Disappointed, the group headed back to
Louisburgh over the same bleak and dangerous path they had just taken. It is
unknown how many of this group of starving people met their death in the waters
of Doolough. — Some call them the dead victims of the Great Hunger; others
refer to them as martyrs. Hunger and poverty are the consequences of the
selfishness of people. So the solution to this devastating problems lies with
man alone. (Fr. Bobby). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
13) Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.” One
day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country
with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a
couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor
family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the
trip?” “It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people live?” the father
asked. “Oh yeah,” said the son. “So, tell me, what you learned from the trip”
asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had
four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a
creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have
the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the
whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields
that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to
protect us; they have friends to protect them.” The boy’s father was
speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
(Fr. Bobby). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
14) That’s my onion! There was this rich lady who
lived on her own and led an impeccable life as far as the externals of religion
were concerned. She went to Mass daily, and found little or nothing to confess
when she went to confession. Eventually she died and to her horror and surprise
found that she had been assigned to hell. She complained bitterly explaining
how she had lived a virtuous and utterly blameless life on earth. Satan
inquired of Peter and was told there was no mistake. But Peter conceded that if
she could think of one single act of kindness, heaven would be open to her. The
woman returned saying: “One day,” she said, “as I was cooking the dinner a
beggar came to the back door. He was hungry and I gave him an onion.” Peter
checked and found that it was true and said to Satan. “We are going to lower
the onion into your department at the end of a rope. Tell her to clasp it and
then we’ll pull her up here.” Needless to say the woman grabbed the onion and
suddenly her feet left the nether region. As she was being pulled up, some of
her companions, seeing the opportunity of getting out with her, clung to her.
“Let go, let go,” she shrieked, kicking out at them, “that’s my onion.” With
these words, “That’s my onion,” the rope snapped and she fell back, with her
onion, into the arms of Satan, who said to her, “That rope was strong enough to
save both you and your brothers, but it was not strong enough to save you
alone.” (James A. Feeban from Story Power; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
15) Do it now! There was a rich man who
complained to his friend thus: “The people do not like me. They say I am very
stingy and greedy, but I have made my will. I have willed the entire property
to a charitable institution. The friend replied, “Have you heard of the story
of the pig and the cow? A pig came to the cow and complained: ‘People speak so
well of you and your friendliness. It is true that you give milk. But they
profit from me much more. They have meat and sausages of different types. Even
my feet and hands they eat. Still nobody loves me as they love you. For
everybody I am a pig, nothing more. Why?’ The cow reflected and said, ‘Perhaps
it is because I give while I am alive; you give, or rather it is taken away,
after you are dead!’” — Is it not folly to postpone the good we can do here and
now for later?
(Anonymous; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
16) Together we can make it: Sadhu Sunder Singh
and a friend were once travelling through the mountains of North India. Winter
storms were howling around them, and soon they were caught in a blizzard,
through which they battled with great difficulty. Presently, they saw a man
lying by the roadside, apparently dead. The Sadhu wished to stay to give help,
but his friend, protesting that the effort would be unavailing, passed on his
way. Displaying the spirit of the good Samaritan, the Sadhu chaffed the hands and
feet of the prostate man, and finally lifted him on his back and trudged
painfully through the snow. The warmth of the man’s body, added to that of his
own had a reviving and sustaining effect on the body. After a mile’s further
progress, they found another body lying by the wayside. It was the Sadhu’s
companion, frozen to death. He had not sufficient warmth alone to fight the
storm. — Today’s Gospel teaches us to share our gifts with others. (Anthony
Castle in Quotes and Anecdotes; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
17) Feeding the poor: An old monk prayed many
years for a vision from God to strengthen his Faith, but it never came. He had
almost given up hope when, one day, a vision of Christ’s face appeared in his
cell. The old monk was overjoyed. But then, right in the middle of the vision,
the monastery bell rang. The ringing of the bell meant it was time to feed the
poor who gathered daily at the monastery gate. How could he leave now? What
should he do – stay with his Heavenly Visitor, or go to his duty of
distributing help to the needy. If he failed to show up with food, the
unfortunate people would leave quietly, thinking the monastery had nothing to
give them that day. The old monk was torn between his earthly duty and his
Heavenly vision. But, before the bell stopped ringing, the monk made his
decision. With heavy heart, he went off to feed the poor. Nearly an hour later,
the old monk returned to his room. When he opened the door, he could hardly
believe his eyes. The room was filled with heavenly brightness. There stood
Christ shining as the sun, smiling upon him with Divine tenderness. As the monk
dropped to his knees in thanksgiving, the Vision said to him, “My son, had you
not gone off to feed the poor, I would not have stayed.” (Bel San Louis in Stories
of Life and Laughter; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
18) Sharing: For the past few years I have had the privilege of accompanying a disabled children’s picnic to Lourdes. One of the days involves a trip to the mountains for a picnic with fun and games. Everybody is supplied with food and drink, which is packed in several large cardboard boxes. On my first trip, one of the groups discovered, when they got to the mountain, that they had left all their food and drink back in the hotel. There was no chance of getting sufficient refreshments locally, so there was only one obvious solution. Those of us with food and drink examined what we had, and selected one or two items which we gave to those without food and drink. As there were many groups involved, it so happened that those without anything ended up with more than they could eat, while all the rest of us were more than happy with what we had. (Jack McArdle in And that’s the Gospel Truth). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/).
