Christian Fellowship

The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Raul Caga SVD – Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B

The Gospel this Sunday is familiar to us – the multiplication of the loaves – one of the spectacular miracles that Jesus did attesting to his identity as the Son of God. The people began to realize this when they said: “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come in the world.” (John 6,14) More than just showing the greatness and power of the Messiah, Jesus also showed his compassion and sensitivity to the needs of the people. In the miracle of feeding and fellowship, Jesus revealed both his divinity and humility.

The scene in the Gospel reminds me of one Holy Week experience I had in my parish in La Paz, Agusan del Sur. I suggested that the stations of the cross would end up not in the Church as had always been the case but on a hill about 5 kilometers away. I was imagining of coming close to the experience of Jesus in Calvary where his crucifixion happened and his last words uttered. Thrilled with this idea, the people obliged without hesitation. But my problem was the provision for lunch. I did not want to send them away hungry at the end of the event. So I asked the people to bring their provision in the spirit of abstinence.

Good Friday came and after a long walk we reached our “Calvary hill.” After concluding the stations of the cross, people found their places and took out their “baon.” What I saw were happy faces, people exchanging and sharing food. Our “Calvary hill” turned into a “hill of fellowship and Christian camaraderie.” Joy and love filled our hearts and we realized that our commemoration of the sufferings of Jesus brought about a fellowship on a Good Friday. The people in the Gospel who were filled to satisfaction exclaimed, “This is truly the Prophet…” Like them we too on that beautiful Good Friday also exclaimed, “Truly the Son of God is a God of love, of camaraderie and of fellowship.” After all the Reign of God that he vigorously preached which ended up on the cross is a banquet of love and fellowship.

Sharing is the Gospel value preached to us by Jesus today. There is so much suffering and poverty in our country because we have not learned this gospel value well enough. The unequal distribution of wealth continues to be the rule of law. There is an unbridled greed for more and more wealth.

Jesus shows to us that the Gospel value of sharing arises from compassion and sensitivity to the needs of others. The social teaching of the church calls this “solidarity” the capacity to see oneself in others. If the Christian virtue of solidarity is practiced; if compassion and sensitivity to the needs of others are exercised, the miracle of feeding will solve today’s hunger and poverty in our society and fellowship in the Kingdom of God will be truly inaugurated.