Leave-taking of Mid-Pentecost; The Holy Martyr Basiliscus (286-305)
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Acts 13:13-24; John 6:5-14
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
The magnitude of the miracle in today’s reading inspires astonishment, but as important as it is to revere Jesus’ mighty work of the multiplication of loaves, let us examine how the Lord prepares his disciples to receive the miracle. The Lord wanted the disciples to understand the paucity of the situation. This is why he asks Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He wanted them to understand that they are encountering an impossible task which is beyond them to be able to accomplish on their own. Once they understood their inability to control the situation their eyes became more attuned to clearly see and experience God’s power in Christ. In other words, they were humbled because of their inability to meet the need of the people. This humility was not meant to defeat and deflate them, but to inspire them to turn to Christ with their whole heart. They turned with their whole heart and offered the best they could knowing it wasn’t enough: five loaves and two fish. For this reason, they benefited, not just with a full stomach, but more importantly, they received the spiritual grace which comes from encountering God working in our midst.
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