Today’s Gospel recounts Jesus feeding over five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-15). St. John notes that this occurred shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover, situating the event in the context of the Last Supper and the institution of the two Sacraments—the Eucharist and the Priesthood.
In feeding the enormous crowd of five thousand hungry men, along with women and children (Mt 14:21), Jesus demonstrated the power of His divinity. Though Jesus appeared as an ordinary man of His time, one among many others in Nazareth, He was God incarnate, living among His people. Jesus wants us to know and believe this so that our faith in Him is not shaken by doubt or uncertainties. In Jesus, God truly dwelt among His people to lead, feed, heal, and guide them, just as a good shepherd cares for his sheep by being with them, providing for them, and sheltering them. This fulfills the prophecy of Ezekiel (34:15-16), where God foretold, “I myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace. I will seek my lost ones, those who strayed away, and bring them safely home again. I will put splints and bandages upon their broken limbs and heal the sick.” As Psalm 145 also testifies, “The hand of the Lord feeds us, he answers all our needs.” In His divinity, Jesus is truly one with God the Father.
The image of Jesus feeding the multitude also calls to mind Moses, who helped God feed His people with manna from heaven. This illustrates that God always takes responsibility for His people seriously and is happy to be accountable for the welfare of those He has chosen to make His name known to all the world.
Finally, today’s Gospel highlights that just as God created everything out of nothingness, the miracle of Jesus shows that God continues to create and provide for what is essential to our lives. The Lord invites us to keep coming to Him and be nurtured by His providence. In particular, in the Eucharist, God does not feed us with something made up, He feeds us with His own self—namely, the Body and Blood of Christ. In this way, we can become one with the Most Holy God and one with one another in baptism, in the creed we profess, and in love (Ephesians 4:1-6).
Fr. Tien Cao
