Nothing Will Be Wasted

April 4, 2008

Friday of the Second Week of Easter

“So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:38-39

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.” John 6:11-12

Piety

Dear Brother Jesus, you told us that in the world we will have trouble. However, you provide the peace that we need no matter what happens. Today, you took the people who were hungry and gave them food. You took the disciples who were going to be killed and spared their lives. We turn to you with courage, praise and thanksgiving, asking that you will continue to meet our physical and spiritual needs.

Today, we also remember the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of your servant Martin. He had been to the mountaintop with you. Now he is at your side for eternity. Please continue to watch over all of your children to make his dream come true.

Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/040408.shtml

As we continue to celebrate the Resurrection, the Good News reminds us that Jesus performed many signs that reveal that he was God and that he would provide everlasting nourishment for us. Today’s sign – the feeding of the 5,000 – happens to occur right around Passover, the same time of year when the Last Supper occurred and Jesus instituted the Eucharist. Through this miraculous sign, the disciples once again saw – even though they did not realize what they were witnessing – that Jesus would provide us with the Bread of Life.

Today, Jesus provides food which nourishes the crowd both literally and spiritually. First, the people are far from home and have no where else to go for food. Rather than rushing home from Mass before the hour is up, these people not only stayed for the final blessing, they did not go home. They went out to the hillside to follow Jesus. They stayed all day listening to him. (Imagine how happy Fr. Barkett would be if all our parishioners at St. Mary of Sorrows not only stayed until the end of Mass, but then we also followed him home in the afternoon and listened to his preaching and teaching all day long! I hope he has a few loaves and fishes to go around.)

Back to this story, to meet their needs, Jesus performs the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes to assure that there is enough food for all to eat. However, beyond meeting their physical hunger, Jesus’ performance of this sign also helps the people to believe through their own personal witness that this man is truly the Prophet that they have been awaiting.

Although they are starting to recognize Jesus is special, even the disciples do not really know what that means. So rather than recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, they want to give him public praise as a king…praise that Jesus wants to avoid. To avoid this, Jesus withdraws to the mountaintop alone.

As with the last meeting Jesus had with the disciples in John’s account, fish once again play a prominent role in this paschal meal. We recall how Jesus told the disciples that they would become “fishers of men.” Through today’s miracle, Jesus did catch many people who now believed that He was the prophet who would come into the world.

The gathering of the “left-over’s” also portends the process in today’s Mass of the purification of the vessels after Communion. The priest carefully cleans the paten and chalice to assure that no fragments of the Body and Blood of Christ are wasted.

Action

How much food do you throw out in a day? In a week? In a year?

Assuring that nothing is wasted will allow additional food to be shared with others who are hungry. Many charities rely upon the excess food from grocery stores and restaurants to provide food for those who are hungry. In this way, their outreach resembles the outreach by Christ to feed those literally and spiritually.

Strive to use and share everything that you prepare and waste as little as possible.

Whether bringing food to the homeless on the streets (like the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House) or providing a place to serve them (like So Others Might Eat), there are many programs in the Washington/Northern Virginia area which provide food to those who are hungry.

Our society tends to focus on feeding the hungry during the winter holidays. As these charities and others will attest, hunger and poverty are problems “24/7.” Consider making a donation of food to Brown Bag Sunday at church, to a local food pantry, or serve a meal to the homeless as one of your upcoming volunteer projects.