Daily Gospel Reflection for June 23, 2019 - Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Reflection by Clayton Imoo Today's Gospel: Luke 9:11B-17 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ We’ve read these “feeding of the multitudes” stories many times. In fact, the feeding of the 5,000 is found in all four Gospels. Usually, we focus on the 5,000 men (plus the women and children) who need to be fed, and how this story serves of a reminder of Jesus's impressive miracles. While that’s obviously very true and very important, today let's focus on the disciples and their role. When Jesus told the disciples to give food to the people in the crowd, the disciples were understandably confused and concerned. They replied to Jesus that they wouldn’t have enough food, unless they went out and bought some. (I’m not sure what store would have been open at that time.) Jesus ends up taking the five loaves and two fish, blessing them, breaking them, and then handing the pieces back to the disciples. Everyone in the crowd ate, and there were even leftovers. I’m convinced that Jesus was trying to get the disciples to focus on what they did have and not what they did not have. He wanted the disciples to commit and contribute to the cause by having faith and by passing out the blessed food. Then, after passing out the food, the disciples, as tired as they were, were instructed to pick up the leftovers. Jesus had them do this to point out that God didn’t just provide enough for everyone to eat; rather He gave them more than enough to meet the need. Much like the disciples, we too need to release our resources to God in trust. When we focus on what we have and how we can share what we have with others, God will bless us abundantly and in more ways that we thought possible.