Feast of Corpus Christi  Gospel C

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. 

· Notice Jesus confirmed his teaching by healing those in need. There seems to be two different processes used by Jesus. He taught and then he would perform some extraordinary sign to confirm the teaching; or he exercised one of the gifts of the Spirit and then gave a teaching to verify what he did.

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." 

· Though they were concerned about the needs of the people, the Twelve did not realize that Jesus had a greater concern for them. They are approaching a problem from the human perspective. Jesus wants to teach them that the same problem needs to be approached from God’s perspective. Do we see how we do the same thing?

He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." 

· In saying what he said, Jesus was testing the disciples to see how they would respond. Even though they had seen many miracles and even though they knew Jesus was a man of God, they still responded humanly. Do we act any differently?

· They had not yet gotten to the point of asking what God would want them to do in this situation.

Now the men there numbered about five thousand. 

· The number is significant since it indicates the extent of the miracle that Jesus would bring about. It is not a matter of stretching what is at hand but of a true miraculous multiplication of the little that is there.

Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. 

· There is a sense of confidence shown by Jesus.

· These are the ritual actions that Jesus will used at the Last Supper when he instituted the Eucharist.

· This miracle is a foreshadowing of the greater miracle of changing bread and wine into Jesus’ Body and Blood.

And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.

· Imagine yourself there. What would be your reaction first to know that Jesus performed a miracle to feed the crowd and second that there was this abundance even when all had been satisfied?

· What does it say about God’s love for the people?

· When Jesus shares his own Body and Blood with you, what does it say about his love for you?