Grace Is Inclusive

𝐀𝐔𝐆, 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐘, 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐍𝐮𝐦 𝟏𝟏:𝟒-𝟏𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟖𝟏:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟕 “𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟑-𝟐𝟏

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅,” (𝒗.20) 

         This miracle event showed that Jesus indeed was who he said he was. That he was sent down from heaven to be with the chosen people of God can no longer be denied nor doubted. And here Jesus gave the people a glimpse of what God is like.

         But that’s getting ahead of this narrative. If Jesus is likened to a military general, He definitely knew when to attack and when to withdraw. And in today’s Gospel reading, we see Jesus withdrawing after a tiring campaign in going from town to town to introduce a new paradigm shift in relating to God.  

         From the rigorous life that was so steeped in religious laws being demanded by the Pharisees, Jesus showed what it is to have compassion for one another. And this radical shift towards worship was what led him into a direct confrontation with the religious leaders at that time.

         There were also four underlying reasons why Jesus decided to withdraw, albeit temporarily (𝐯.𝟑). 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩; (2) 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘥; (3) 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯 (𝘔𝘬 6:31) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 (4) 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

        For Jesus it was important to be alone from time to time to hear God’s voice and be refreshed physically and mentally. This is what Jesus is also telling us who are engaged in bringing the Gospel to others. There is a saying that goes like this: “If we don’t come apart and rest – we’ll come apart.”

         Filled with grief at the news of the death and beheading of his kin John the Baptist, Jesus had withdrawn to a deserted place to be alone. Perhaps He wanted to collect himself and plan his next move because if Herod could order the killing of a holy man like John the Baptist, there is also a possibility He and his disciples could be next in line of those to be executed since this was also the time that there is a growing clamor from among the religious leaders to silence Jesus.

         A very beautiful Bible translation of what followed next which is recorded in 𝐯.𝟏𝟒 says: “𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒌.” This translation sums up not only what Jesus felt at the time but it provides us with a picture of the true nature and character of Christ. “𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠” meant that compassion filled his entire being that there was nothing in his heart that did not translate to compassion.

         Jesus could have driven away the crowd, but he did not. Instead, he gave the people what they needed. He healed all those who were sick and when nighttime came, he ministered to the people by feeding them from what his disciples can gather – five loaves of bread and two fish.

        What Jesus did was that He showed his disciples the important role they will play and to a certain degree the role that we too will play. To serve the needs of the more than 5,000 who have gathered, Jesus had to use his disciples to distribute the food. And this is the reality that we also face today. For the Good News to reach the ends of the world, Jesus has to use us especially those who have signed a Covenant with the Lord because it is through the disciples 12 of whom will later be named as Apostles and through us now that the truth can be proclaimed.

        What we also see in this miracle is not just the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish but the miracle of the transformation of the people from an uncaring type of people who are indifferent to the needs of their fellowmen to a multitude of Jews who have become generous to one another.

        But the people are not to be blamed for it was their culture to only fend for their family’s needs. To share it with a stranger was a rarity in those times but they saw in Jesus the compassion to share with those who are hungry and without food. And Jesus used this occasion to give his disciples and the people who followed him a preview of the things that are yet to come.

        When Jesus lifted the five loaves and two fish and said a blessing, he must also have partaken a slice of bread and maybe also a slice of the fish and handed these to his disciples to be distributed. In effect, what Jesus did was he gave the Apostles an advance screening of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

         As it was also improbable that each of the people gathered took one loaf of bread and one fish, what may have actually happened is that each only took a bite size from the loaf of bread and the fish that were being distributed but because these were blessed by Jesus, it partook of the nature of the Sacrament of the Eucharist that was sufficient to fill the needs of the people.

         More than anything else, Jesus showed that anything is possible when it is done in love. Love conquers all things and in this Gospel passage, Jesus gave the disciples a lesson of what love means. When Jesus refused to drive away the people and instead responded to the cry of the people especially the sick and, when he used his power to multiply the five loaves and two fish, Jesus only showed that love can change even self-centered men into becoming generous to others.

         This is the same attitude that Jesus is asking of anyone who will follow him. We are to share this same love that we received from Jesus so that others may also be blessed. In times when we may feel that what we give to Jesus may not be enough, this miracle of the five loaves and two fish assures us that whatever we give to him will be multiplied.

         The only thing we need to do is to share this same love to others for it is in sharing what we have received from Jesus in the first place that we submit to the Will of the Father.

         To sum it up, the other reality that those reading this Gospel passage may miss is that Jesus could make use of the little that we have. The five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish was enough to feed a crowd of more than 5,000 and the leftovers filled 12 wicker baskets that could still be used to feed other people who may be in need.

         What this miracle showed is that Jesus can always put to good use even the little that we have. What Jesus was actually saying here is that anyone can come to him with what they have as he will welcome not just the learned, the rich and the famous, the skilled and talented but he will welcome with open arms even the simplest, the poorest, unskilled, uneducated among us because Jesus can make use of even the least of us.

         In 𝐯.𝟏𝟒, Jesus showed his disciples the kind of sacrifice that awaits them when it will be time for them to go and make disciples of all nations. Here, Jesus showed the kind of character that every servant must have.

        This Gospel passage is so beautiful that it is replete with meaning and there are at least five takeaways we can derive from this: (1) 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. (2) 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯? (3) 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯 (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. (4) 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 – 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺!       

        A servant must be able and willing to sacrifice even his own time in the service of others. A servant must go out of his way to serve others. A servant must be able to sacrifice his own time in serving God. And this is the kind of response that Jesus expects from us especially those who have entered into a covenantal relationship with God in the community where they are service. It also means dedicating a lifetime of service to Our God. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘈𝘶𝘨. 4, 2025)