Welcome to Finding God in Our Hearts. The following production Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is a weekly program of deep spiritual insight on Scripture, revealing the indwelling presence of God. Monsignor Fisher is a Catholic priest, a member of the Diocese of Dallas, and founder of the Pastoral Reflections Institute, a nonprofit in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to to enriching your spiritual journey. We appreciate your listenership and if you find this program valuable, please subscribe and share with your friends. This program is funded with kind donations by listeners just like you make your donation@pastoralreflectionsinstitute.com Today we celebrate the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Opening Prayer Almighty ever living God, who govern all things, both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the pleading of your people and bestow your peace on our times through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen. A Reading from the old testament from 2 Kings 442:44aman came from Baal Shalashah, bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits and fresh grain. In the ear Elisha said, give it to the people to eat. But his servant objected. How can I see? How can I set this before a hundred people?
Elisha insisted, give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord, they shall eat, and there shall be some left over and when they had eaten, there was some leftover, as the Lord had said the Word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm the hand of the Lord feeds us he answers all our needs. A Reading from the New Testament from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 4:6 Brothers and sisters I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. One body, one Spirit, as you are also called to the one hope of your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all the Word of the Lord. A great prophet has risen in our midst.
God has visited his people. The Gospel for this Sunday is taken from St. John, sixth chapter, first through the 15th verse. Jesus went across the sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near. And 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? He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 200 days wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a bite. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, there’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good are they for so many?
Jesus said, have the people recline now. There was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about 5,000 in number. 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 their fill, he said to his disciples, gather the fragments left over so that nothing will be wasted. So they collected them and filled 12 wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
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. Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. The Gospel of the Lord. I mentioned to you that we’re reading scripture from the year of Mark. But as you know, Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of holy gospels. And there really isn’t enough in it to fulfill all the Sundays of ordinary time, which is about 33, 34 Sundays.
So today we have John’s Gospel. And I think it’s worth noting how different John’s Gospel is than Mark and Matthew and Luke, because those first three are the ones we call the Synoptic Gospels. And they’re very similar. And one of the things that’s similar about them is they basically are reflections of those who witness the actions of Jesus. So what you find in the synoptic gospel is a great indication and a history of what Jesus did. But John’s Gospel is different.
It’s not focused so much on what Jesus did, but who Jesus is and who he is in John’s Gospel is such a strong, clear message that this Jesus is God incarnate. He’s God. Now. We know that he was man and God. But if you work from the man position, you learn a lot about what it means to be human and the beauty and the dignity of humanity. But also, if you focus, and I don’t really do this that much, Myself personally.
But if you really focus on Jesus as God, then you have a lot to learn about who God is in this figure, Jesus. And when the disciples would ask, show us the Father, who’s the Father? What does he, what does he do? And Jesus would look at his disciples with that piercing look that he must have had and said, hey, you see me? You’re looking at me, you’re looking at the Father. So when John starts his gospel, he goes back to the very beginning and says, at the very beginning of time, Jesus was there.
Well, how is that that Jesus existed for all time? Well, the part of Jesus that existed for all time was his divinity, because Jesus divinity is God. So it’s like saying when John’s gospel says that Jesus was there at the beginning, he’s making another statement subtly that this Jesus is the best reflection we have of who God is. So yes, God was there at the beginning of creation. So that meant Jesus, the divinity in Jesus was there. But there’s this mystery.
The divinity of Jesus was so integrated into his humanity that it was one. So let’s just go back to staying with this one image. When we see Jesus recorded in this gospel, we’re looking at God and how he works in the world today, in your life and in my life. So one of the other things about John’s gospel that’s interesting is how many different ways in which John records the actions of Jesus, because they’re not the same things that we find in the other, other synoptics. There’s many miracles that John never mentions. Particularly the one that’s shocking in a way is he doesn’t mention, you know, the Last Supper in terms of the Eucharist.
He remembers the Last Supper because of the washing of the feet. And he also has some other things that are left out that seem very important, like driving out demons. John never mentions in his gospel that Jesus drove demons out of people. But what did he stress? Well, the interesting thing is it’s the stressing in this particular gospel which is so important is the feeding of the 5,000. I found this out and I never knew this, never realized it.
But the only miracle that’s in every One of the four Gospels is this miracle, the feeding of the 5,000. So there must be something in this particular image of God feeding people that is crucial to our understanding, the relationship we have with God. If you look back to the Old Testament, you see the image of God feeding people when he gathered the Israelite people together, took them out of slavery into freedom, and he was on this journey. The one thing that was clear that he had to do as well as direct them is to feed them. And the one thing that they didn’t like and they complained about the most was the food. We don’t want this food.
We’re tired of this food. We want to go back to slavery where we had the right food. So interesting. People love food, you know, but he was there feeding them. And then you have in this first gospel from the book of the prophet Elisha, you’ll see, or it’s from second Kings, but basically you’re seeing again, the image is there. The prophet calls upon someone to feed the people and they say there’s not enough.
And yes, there is enough. Yeah, stop thinking there’s not enough. So what is this miracle all about? Why is it so important? Well, let’s start with an image that I’d like to focus on. And that’s the image that John uses as to who Jesus is.
He’s divinity, but he has terms that he uses. Light of the world. He is, he is the bread of life. And over and over in John’s gospel, he keeps talking about what God has come into the world to give to you is life. Life. Well, what’s he talking about?
What is this light and life? Well, it’s more than existence. It’s enlightenment. I think it’s, it’s, it’s living with a more clear consciousness of what’s going on in, in our relationship with God. It’s about life. Life is, is this wonderful gift that God gives us that we let slip through our fingers because we get caught up in and anxiety and worry and needing certain things to be a certain way and we lose any sense of well being and of peace.
I know you, like me, live in a lot of anxiety. It’s so interesting to me that this anxiety that we have is often based on a kind of fear that is not really very logical. Like for example, this may be too personal example. But whenever I’m doing something and I fear that I might be making a mistake or saying something that’s offensive to someone, or not showing up when I promised I would, or making some kind of mistake, I feel it physically in my gut. It’s like a dread that’s right there. Like, oh my God, I didn’t do what I was supposed to do.
And when I have that feeling that I’m out of sync with what I’m supposed to do, there is this dread, anxiety. And when I think about life, when I think about all the things that you have on your plate. And I have on my plate all the responsibilities we have. And then you add to those the responsibilities that we feel our religion puts on us, that we should have a certain way of being in the world and helping people and being good to people. All that responsibility. It’s so easy to see that there would be a way of time we would say, I’m not enough.
I can’t do this. I’m always failing. Ah, there it is. I’m not enough. Nothing is more important than you believing. And I need to believe more that I am not enough to do what it is that God has called me to do in this world.
I’m not talking now about keeping appointments or making a mistake. I’m talking about the plan of God, what we’re here to accomplish. And what is that that we’re here to accomplish? I don’t know. I have no clear indication of what it means that I am living in God’s will, accomplishing all the things he wants me to do for me and for the people around me and all that. But I do know that it exists.
There is a plan. And when I’m in sync with that plan, when I feel like I’m part of it and it’s flowing the way it should, there’s a peaceful feeling. But when I don’t have it, when there’s darkness, when there’s a misstep or things like that, that’s when I feel like I’m not going to make it. All right. If it’s natural and healthy for you to believe that you’re not going to make it, then what do we need? We need someone to be there with us, right?
So what if this image of Jesus, I. E. God, being in your life and in my life, to be there to enlighten you, to show you the way, and also at the same time to bring you this kind of inner peace and well being and know that you’re safe and that everything’s all right. So if that’s being, if that’s there, then why doesn’t God just give it to us and then we have it? I’m not ever worried or anything like that. It doesn’t work that way.
This is really important that I say this slowly and I hope you can follow me. When God in Jesus is present, he is feeding you in the moment, in the moment. He’s not going to give you everything, all the energy, all this sustenance you need before you go into something difficult and you know you’re prepared for it, no matter what happens, you can handle it? No, it’s in the moment. In the moment. And so that’s why in John’s Gospel there’s something so unique and so interesting.
It’s the. The way John tells the story is different than the way the story is told in the synoptics. And there’s a very interesting change. It’s the same except for one crucial moment. Who distributes the food to the people that are hungry? In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus gives the food to the disciples and says to the disciples, give this to the people.
In John’s Gospel, it’s Jesus that gives the food to everyone. Now 5,000 people and one person is handing out the food. Well, come on, don’t get caught up in the logistics of that. It’s just that it’s like there’s this little thing that’s in our minds. Little. A few pieces of fish and a little bread.
And when it’s in the hands of this life force, this presence of God in our life, Jesus represents that he is God in that moment. He gives exactly to us what we need at that moment. At that moment. And then there is a kind of well being in the midst of everything, no matter how dark or how hard or unwelcomed, whatever, there’s a way of feeling that everything is okay, everything is as it must be. That is the most wonderful feeling. And it’s founded in having faith in who Jesus is and what he does.
And what he does is he represents. No, he is the presence of God giving us all that we need in that moment. That means that our conviction, our faith is that there’s nothing that we won’t be able to handle now. What does that mean? There’s nothing we can’t accomplish or fix or improve upon? No, it means whatever it is, there’s a grace in the moment that you and I have that we can say it’s all right.
It’s all right. When I’ve been with people who are close to death and they’re struggling constantly to fight this thing that looks like it’s going to take their life away, even though it’s a new birth coming into their life. But. But they’re resisting. They’re resisting and resisting. And I can always tell you, if I go to visit that person toward the end of their life, I’ll walk in one day and all of a sudden they look 10 years younger.
They have a face that looks like it’s at peace. And I talk to them and they say something to me like, hey, whatever happens is okay. I’m Fine. I’ll be okay. That’s faith in action. When this person has the sense that this grace that is there called the presence of divinity, resonating life into you at the moment when you need it the most, that key thing right there is the message of John’s gospel.
God is in your life. He knows everything is happening to you. He knows what’s coming. Before you know it, does he give you all the strength and all the power that you need to handle everything? If he did that, if he gave us all the power and we weren’t going around saying, no matter what happens, I can handle it, we’d be monsters, ego monsters. Because we’d feel like we don’t need anybody.
No, we need divinity like we need food, air, water. And without it, we lose something that’s crucial in terms of engaging in this thing, this beautiful thing he’s given us as life. I struggle with that so much to be able to say whatever happens is fine. And every time I go into a dread and a feeling of failure and I just taste that awful feeling that is just like, I don’t know, shame, anger, fear. Because I’m not good enough. He’s smiling at me and saying, no, you are good enough.
You’re good enough in your imperfection and your weakness. You’re good enough because I’m right here in that moment to give you what you need. And that’s my joy, that’s my. My passion to be light and life for you. So we need to believe in it and trust in it. It’s essential to everything that we long for when it comes to the Kingdom of God.
Closing prayer. Father, your promise presence that we learn about in this man, God. Jesus is a constant, steady source of all that we need to endure, engage and be a part of the plan that you’ve given us in this life. So bless us with this confidence in his gifts and let us trust, when we even feel normally that we can’t do it, that’s fine. But just feed us also with the conviction that with you, with God, with him, we can do all things. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
The music in our program was composed and produced by Ryan Harner for this show, Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher. A listener supported program is archived and available on our website, pastoralrefleflectionsinstitute.com and available anytime, anywhere and for free on our podcast, Finding God in Our Hearts. You can search and subscribe to Finding God in Our Hearts anywhere you download your podcasts. Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is funded with kind donations by listeners just like you. You can make a one time or recurring tax deductible donation on our website pastoralreflectionsinstitute.com we thank you for your listenership and your continued support. Without it, this program would not be possible.
Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is a production of the Pastoral Reflections Institute, a NonProfit in Dallas, Texas dedicated to enriching your spiritual journey. Executive Producer Monsignor Don Fisher produced by Kyle Cross and recorded in Pastoral Reflections Institute Studios. Copyright 2020.
