Did Jesus really feed the crowds that were hungry?: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Many years ago, I visit a Loaves and Fishes program

·     We helped to prep for a dinner with the poor

·     There was a youth group there for the evening

·     And a speaker spoke about a similar passage that we just heard that he shared about how the people received food

o  His belief was that they were fed, because everyone shared their food with each other

·     And I was curious that evening, what about Jesus’ Christ?

As Catholics, we believe that such miracles can happen

·     We heard a parallel situation in the first reading and the Gospel

o  People were gathered that were hungry

o  Someone asked how they could be fed

o  God/Jesus did feed them, with more than what was needed

So here is a question for you this day: do you believe in these miracle or do you not?  Did God really feed 100 people in 2 Kings, or did Jesus really feed 5,000 men, plus women and children?  Were these simple stories or symbolic?  Or did really create something that they needed?

Jesus said:

·     “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."”

What do you think?

Here is what the Catholic Church believes, simply “Yes” 

Finally, we will continue to walk through John 6 for four more weeks as these “feeding of bread and fish” goes deeper into Jesus’ Body and Blood