Friday of the
Second Week of Easter
(Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-5)
The math teacher at an all-male Catholic high school
early in the year deterred discipline problems.
When he saw the boy with the biggest muscles acting out of line, he
grabbed the boy’s tie and said something like, “Never do that again, mister, do
you hear me?” That showed the class that
he was tough. When he saw one of the smaller
students misbehaving, the teacher sent him outside where he might be seen by
the school’s disciplinarian. That proved
that he was mean. The actions had strong
sign value. All the boys in the class reckoned
that this math teacher was not to be fooled with. Jesus’ feeding the multitude in today’s
gospel is also done as a sign.
John’s
mentioning that proximity to Passover does not only indicate the time of
year. More importantly, it indicates
that Jesus’ feeding the crowd is like God’s feeding the Israelites in the
desert with manna and quail. Jesus is
giving the people a sign that he is worthy of their trust. They are to believe in him as they believe in
God who sent him. Unfortunately, the
people pick up the wrong message. Rather
than heeding his words, they want to make him their king so that he might
continue feeding them for nothing.
The bread and wine in the Eucharist are likewise signs of
something greater present. They indicate
that that we are being nourished with food that provides eternal life. In this case they have become what they signify
– the body and blood of Christ that enable us to love like him.
