July 29, Ordinary 17B (John 6:1-21)
At that deserted spot on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus could've used a grocery store.
This week’s Gospel reading goes hand in glove with last week’s. The disciples have been traveling, working long days to minister to all kinds of people. While trying to find a little peace and quiet, Jesus and his friends keep being followed by the curious and the critics. In all his compassion, Jesus wants to figure out how to feed the thousands of people. And there is the addition of Jesus walking on the water in the middle of a storm, offering interesting punctuation to the story of the loaves and fishes.
I think it’s quite remarkable how numerous these feeding stories are. All four Gospels include the feeding of the 5,000; Matthew and Mark add a very similar story in which Jesus feeds 4,000. In all six stories, there are leftovers galore. While there are interesting exegetical nuances to attend to, I want to consider the thematic aspect of the feeding stories in relationship to food systems.
John’s version of the feeding of the multitude is my favorite. Thanks to its use of a narrative figure, John’s account is a popular Sunday school story for children—and the phrase “loaves and fishes” has currency beyond religious communities familiar with the story.
