The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time
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2 Kings 4:42-44
Chapters 4-8 contain ten legends about the Prophet Elisha, a miracle worker by all accounts. Today’s reading is a very short account from those legends where Elisha feeds a crowd of one hundred men with 20 loaves of bread. Part of the contrast with the gospel reading is that Jesus does far more with far less.
The passage begins with a man bringing an offering to a shrine, presumably where Elisha is on staff. First fruits were offered to God as the best and freshest portion of the harvest, containing the most vibrant force of life. The man is from a village devoted to the worship of Baal (based on the name of the village), but he still observes the Jewish customs of offering first fruits to God. The bread belonged to God and, by Jewish law, was to be used to feed the priests at the shrine. But Elisha directs that it be given to the people.
A servant objects. It’s not exactly clear why. It could be because the bread belongs to God. Or it could be he doubts that 20 loaves of bread could actually feed one hundred people. 100 is a number that symbolizes totality.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Chapter 4 begins a shift into practical applications and a change in conduct that contact with Christ brings about. Chapters 4-6 are about unity: within the church and with each other. They also address leaving behind former ways while acknowledging the lordship of Christ.
Humility is an important concept in this passage. In the ancient Greek world, it was associated with servants. For the church community, there was a diversity of gifts and, perhaps, it was all too easy to get caught up in one’s own giftedness. The author wants to remind us that, no matter how gifted we are, we must exercise those gifts in a spirit of servanthood, of humility.
Vv1-3 are about ethics (how we are to live out the gospel), and they will be developed further in the next few chapters. Vv4-6 are a creed or confession: this is what we believe. We are reminded that belief and practice are intricately related.
In v1 Paul invokes his status as a prisoner. The irony is that he is inviting the Ephesians to live the very kind of life that got him thrown in prison!
V2 provides a list of virtues. Notice that they are all relational – how we relate in community with others. V3 tells us to strive to bring about unity. Striving means being diligent, fervent, and eager. How eager and diligent are you to preserve the unity of the spirit?
John 6:1-15
Last week’s story in Mark is just prior to Mark’s account of the feeding of the 5000. Today we get the version of that story from John rather than Mark 6:30-44. This is the first of five weeks that we’ll spend in John 6, which is also called “the bread of life discourse.” It’s worth reading this same account from Mark, just to see the differences in what is emphasized. For example, in John it is Jesus who sees the need while in Mark, it is the disciples. John shows us a Jesus who is always very clearly in charge, while Mark’s Jesus is very human and maybe sometimes needs help seeing what is right in front of his face. Which was the “real” Jesus? That is a question to ponder!
This is a hugely important chapter in this gospel and it’s hard to do it justice by reading just pieces of it each week. I would encourage you to begin each week by reading the whole chapter before delving into that week’s selection from it.
Vv1-4 set the scene
The setting is the feast of Passover – when the Jewish people were saved and went on a journey with unleavened bread. Later they were fed with manna. Many images in this chapter evoke the Exodus setting.
Vv5-9 pose the problem
John’s recounting of the feeding of 5000 has many parallels with the story of Moses leading the people through the desert. It takes place on a mountain which is where Moses was given the law. Not too far into the Exodus journey, the people grumble and complain to Moses because they are hungry. In Numbers 11:13, Moses asks God “Where am I to get the meat to give all these people?” But here, Jesus asks the question of Philip.
This story appears in all four gospels but only in John does Jesus take the initiative. Philip and Andrew play a key role in the story. Both have been with Jesus from the beginning (John 1:43) and both seemed to have incorrect expectations about who Jesus was (John 1:35-51). Neither appears to have progressed in their understanding, despite all they’ve experienced.
Philip approaches the problem from a stance of lack – what they do not have. How many times have you felt God wants to do something but all you can see is what little you have? Andrew’s approach is not a whole lot better, but at least he begins with what they do have.
Vv10-13 relate the miracle
One important detail to note is that this was a multiplication of something already there. Jesus didn’t start with nothing – he rarely does. Jesus continually takes the talents we have and, if we let him, multiplies them into something far greater than we could ever imagine.
The setting evokes Psalm 23:2 “he makes me lie down in green pastures.” After the feeding evokes Psalm 23:1 “the lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
In each of the gospels, Eucharistic overtones are highlighted, the same words as the upper room narrative: take, give thanks, give. Notice that the miracle doesn’t happen until Jesus has given thanks for the little he has.
In v12 Jesus has them pick up the leftovers. In Exodus 16, the Israelites are instructed on how to gather the manna so that there would be no waste. There is a strong Jewish tradition against waste. They pick up twelve baskets of fragments; 12 is another number of completeness.
One commentary suggested that when the crowd saw the little boy sharing what little he had, they, too, were inspired to share what they had. Traveling pilgrims would not have been foolish enough to go off without food. Some probably brought along more than others. You might notice that the text does not say they were hungry. This commentary suggests that, when the boy shared what he had, the crowd also dipped into their bags and shared what they had with each other. Perhaps the real miracle here was not that some loaves and fishes themselves were miraculously multiplied but that human hearts were moved to selfless love, to sharing all they had, freely.
Some people might see in this an attempt to discount a miracle. I think both interpretations can be held in tandem. Jesus could have supernaturally multiplied food and that was a miracle. God could also have moved hearts to love, as God always does. That, too, is a miracle. Which do you find easier to believe?
Vv14-15 the aftermath
The aftermath of the miracle is a confession of faith. Perhaps in our liturgy we should recite the creed at the end of the service!
Why did the people follow Jesus? Most of them did so, according to John’s gospel, for the “signs” Jesus did – the miracles and wonders he performed. Jesus doesn’t condemn this as a reason for following initially. But if you read the gospel as a whole, Jesus is always inviting his followers into deeper reasons for following. Why do you follow Jesus?
Connections
God meets our needs, as demonstrated by the 2 Kings and John readings. And it is not stingy – God is extravagant and abundant in providing for us. Seeing the Gospel reading through the lens of the people sharing with one another, the Ephesians reading gives us the motivations and dispositions necessary for such sharing.
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© 2024 Kelly Sollinger