Gospel: John 6:1-15
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. 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, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be
enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew,
the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five
barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these 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 five thousand 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 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 twelve 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.
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Reflection:
Do you thirst for the spotlight after we’ve done something important?
More often than not it’s yes! We all want to be in the spotlight to be the one
holding the starring role. In other words we want attention and honor given to
us.
But how did Jesus handle Himself after miraculously feeding the five
thousand who were following Him? Not minding the adulation and spotlight,
Jesus simply walked away from them all and went to the mountain to be alone
with God.
Jesus was supposed to be proclaimed king by those He fed. But Jesus did
not want that kind of worldly honor and attention. What was important for Jesus
was He did what was expected of Him. Jesus is so unlike with all of us, we who
always thirst for honor and recognition.
By His action of shunning recognition and honor Jesus is teaching us
humility. He is teaching us that after we have done our part for the greater
glory of God it’s time to move on. It’s time to silently evaporate from the
prying eyes of the crowd and be alone with God so that God could strengthen us
and make us humbler.
Let us not look for the spotlight when we serve God or when we do things
for God. Let us be content to silently fade away and let the goodness of God
create a lasting impression in the hearts of those that we serve.
How do you serve God? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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