17th OT (B)- Angola

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “How am I to set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’ ” So he set it before them. And they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Navarre: Joshua–Kings The Multiplication of the Loaves (4:42–44)

Given that the bread of the first fruits was designated for God (cf. ), the man offers it to Elisha because he is a prophet of the Lord

There is a dramatic movement throughout the readings today, let us follow the mind of the Church in how she has provided the Word of God to us today and seek to respond with our lives appropriately. So we’re gonna slowly walk through these readings step-by-step, as it were, to see what the Lord is revealing to us today.

In the first reading, we see God’s great providence at work- He provides for His people. Earlier in 2 Kings it is mentioned that a famine has hit the land and so food is scarce. Yet a man comes from about 15 miles away [Navarre: dist. from Baal-shalishah to Gilgal] and lavishly gives Elisha ten times what is normally offered to God- 20 of the firstfruits of the barley loaves. [Navarre: “Given that the bread of the first fruits was designated for God (cf. ), the man offers it to Elisha because he is a prophet of the Lord”] Elisha does not hoard this for himself but instead commands that it be given to the hundred men standing around him. It seems like they would really have to stretch this food to make it work but Elisha is confident that the Lord will honor the man’s great generosity and so multiply the gift. And so He does. In fact, God’s providence is more than enough. There is an overabundance of food.

In the first reading, we see God’s great providence at work- He provides for His people. Earlier in 2 Kings it is mentioned that a famine has hit the land and so food is scarce. Yet a man comes from about 15 miles away and lavishly gives Elisha ten times what is normally offered to God- 20 of the firstfruits of the barley loaves. Elisha does not hoard this for himself but instead commands that it be given to the hundred men standing around him. It seems like they would really have to stretch this food to make it work but Elisha is confident that the Lord will honor the man’s great generosity and so multiply the gift. And so He does. In fact, God’s providence is more than enough. There is an overabundance of food.

And so we move in to the Responsorial Psalm, which is our response to the First Reading. The Church gives us her voice. This is how she responds to the reading, the praises she offers to the Lord in response to pondering on this First Reading, for pondering on the goodness of God in His great providence. We responded over and over again: “℟.The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs”

The psalm goes on to say “The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

and you give them their food in due season;

you open your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Catholic Daily Readings (U.S. Lectionary) Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

℟.The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

The eyes of all look hopefully to you,

and you give them their food in due season;

you open your hand

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

It is a sentiment of gratitude and deep trust. It is also an act of incredible hope- all we’ve seen in the first reading is the multiplication of bread. Yet in that act we extend God’s possibility of action to every facet of our lives: He answers all our needs. And you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Having expressed this deep trust that God can satisfy our deepest desires, we still await the fulfillment of that promise. Ultimately the fulfillment of all our desires will definitively come only at the end of time. Now, however, in this liturgy of the word, we await Christ’s coming in the Gospel. In our time of waiting, St. Paul exhorts us in the Second Reading. He first introduces himself as a prisoner for the Lord. *Look around* Well, it is no secret that we are in literally in a physical prison here today. But as St. Paul says elsewhere in his letters: though I am in chains, the Word of God is not in chains! And so St. Paul puts these words of exhortation to you, his brothers in chains, through the lips of N., “ I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…bearing with one another” and striving to preserve unity. What kind of unity? We can be united in lots of different ways- both good and evil. Gangs are have an evil union. Drug buddies have an evil union. And in the end, when Christ comes, these sorts of unions will be blown away like chaff in the wind. True unity comes from being united in God. St. Paul says there is “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all...” One God who is Father of all and over all. St. Paul is telling us that our God is the God of providence.

Joshua–Kings The Multiplication of the Loaves (4:42–44)

Given that the bread of the first fruits was designated for God (cf. Lev 23:17–18), the man offers it to Elisha because he is a prophet of the Lord

With this renewed faith in our God who watches over all his creatures, all his people, providing for their every need, we now finally arrive at the Gospel.

Joshua–Kings The Multiplication of the Loaves (4:42–44)

but Elisha, because food was scarce, wants to share it

Saint John’s Gospel Miracle of the Loaves and Fish (6:1–15)

He will supply what is lacking. In the Christian life we must put what we have at the service of our Lord, even if we do not think it amounts to very much. He can make meagre resources productive.

Major arch: God’s providence in history, from OT event, to greater NT event, to even greater reality=Eucharist