NUMEROUS MEANINGS

The miracle that took place in the 1st reading today is one of the forerunners of the New Testament specifically in today's gospel. It proves only one thing that despite the impossibility of the situation God is able to make things happen. When the Lord said so then it shall be done. Do you have a word of God that you are holding on to firmly with faith and confidence in your heart, mind and soul? If yes then consider it done. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Kings 4:42-44

...“How can I set this before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha insisted. “For thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’ ” 44 And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.

There is no doubt that God provides for all our needs. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 145:10-11. 15-16. 17-18

R: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

...The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season;...

We must be fully decided, convinced and confident of the kind of life we live. This life should be in accordance to the call of Jesus to a life of humility, gentleness, patience, love and peace. If our actions do not reflect the fruits of the Holy Spirit then we should examine our lives and urge ourselves to live in a manner worthy of the call we have all received. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Brothers and sisters: I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Today's gospel is taken from John and according to Frances Hogan, it was John the youngest of all the apostles who really wrote the gospel. The person behind the gospel have seen and heard Jesus first hand. He came to Jesus as a teenager and seems to know the heart of Jesus instinctively. It was to John that Jesus gave His mother on the cross. John was taught by God's beloved mother, Mary. As I have mentioned earlier, the book of John is known as the book of signs. (Jn 1:19-12:50) The seven signs are miraculous deeds of Jesus that reveal his true identity. They show Jesus bringing different types of people to believe in Him while at the same time provoking many among the Jews to hostility. The author interprets them for the reader by various reflections, narratives and discourses. Many Jews were provoked to hostility on account of the declarations of Jesus which they could not accept. (Jn 8:58- Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM."; When Moses saw God for the first time and asked God His name, He said, "I AM".; Jn 10:30- The Father and I are one." The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him.; Jn 6:51- I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." ; 6:55-56- For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. ; The bread here is not just like bread on the table and just drink in a cup. Jn 5:17-18- But Jesus answered them, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. The gospel of John holds numerous meanings that we can choose to be like Sherlock Holmes looking for clues to crack open the mystery behind it. God has always wanted us to become the best persons we ought to be. Our lives should be a testimony of God's glory. He wants us to be always focused on this goal and if things are not turning toward this direction then it is time to realign ourselves to God's agenda and not be carried away by the enticements and false assurances of this world. The gospel specifically said that Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee and went up on the mountain. It hit me in the sense that it is somehow telling us to go across the Sea of Galilee and elevate ourselves to a higher level. This invitation is for all of us. Sometimes we get too comfortable doing the old thing and whatever we have gotten used to. It is time for us to go past it and take the challenge of climbing a higher level for the greater glory of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 6:1-15

1 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 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?” 6 He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10 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. 11 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. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 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.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.