1 Kings 4:42-44; Psalms 145; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15
Divine Providence
Dear friends, today is the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time year B. The theme I have chosen for today’s reflection is “Divine Providence”. To provide is to make available what is necessary. The first reading and the Gospel talks about the bread that god provided to multitudes through prophet Elisha and Jesus. In both episodes, there is a twist of events where what seemed impossible was made possible. While Elisha trusted fully in the word of God, “for the Lord says”, Jesus gives thanks to the Father who had granted him such powers as to provide for the people.
The lesson we learn from these passages is the importance of trusting God who provides for his people. The Gospel passage from John 6, sets the scenario for a long conversation between Jesus, the Pharisees, and the crowds about the true bread. Jesus starts by providing the crowd with the physical bread for their physical hunger. However, his goal is to bring them to an understanding of his mission to provide everlasting nourishment to the world by giving his own body as imperishable bread. If you continue reading to the end of this chapter, you will see that many who were only looking for bread to fill their stomachs dropped out and no longer followed Jesus.
Jesus had complete trust in his Father. He believed without any spec of doubt that his Father would provide for his needs whenever he asked of him. Philip and Andrew could not comprehend how a few loaves of bread would be divided among 5000 men so that everyone would get a little piece let alone filling their empty stomachs. We have also read from the first reading that the servant of the prophet Elisha had the same doubts as that of Philip and Andrew. He could not see how the loaves brought by the man from Baal-Shalishay (which means Lord or Master of three things), could feed a hundred men. Both Elisha and Jesus want us to understand that God’s providence is manifested where there is a spirit of sharing the little we have with others. Do you like sharing what you have with others: time, gifts, talents, knowledge, and material things?
In our day-to-day life, we are also confronted with many desperate situations. Sometimes we become so desperate that we do not even trust that God can turn things around and bless us. The question that the servant of Elisha and the two disciples of Jesus were asking is “How can this be possible? For them, it seemed unrealistic that such little could feed so many.
Both Prophet Elisha and Jesus want us to believe that what seems impossible with human consideration is always possible with God. Many times, Jesus insisted that we should trust in God. A few Sundays ago, we heard him sending his disciples to minister in the towns and insisting that they were not to carry any provisions for the road. He urges them to trust in God and whatever they needed would be provided in the mission. When the things that Jesus said about marriage and celibate life amazed the disciples, he told them “With men this is possible but with God all things are possible (Mt. 19:26). The angel of the Lord assured Mary that conceiving by the power of Holy Spirit was possible because it was God’s doing (Lk 1:37). Sometimes people discourage us by casting doubts and fear in us instead of encouraging us to trust in God and move on when we are confronted with difficulties. Do you have such people around you?
If we want God’s providence to be true in our lives and our communities, St. Paul, urges us that one ingredient is necessary – “Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace. A Swahili refrain says, “kidole kimoja hakiui chawa” meaning “one finger cannot kill a flea”. When we pull together, we can do marvelous things but divided we are weak and can do nothing. The first President of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta preached the power of “pulling together” in his famous slogan “Harambee” which later became synonymous to coming together to raise funds for different causes and projects. I have witnessed the power of pulling together with the young men who install electrical poles. With their rhythmic chants, they move and erect very heavy polls.
Unity is one of the core Christian values. A Swahili refrain says, “Blood is thicker than water”, meaning that people who share the same blood and more united than strangers. However, I dare to say that faith in one God is thicker than blood. Faith unites people of all backgrounds and descents. The world today is characterized by extremes because of a lack of unity. Whereas some have more than they need, many lack the basic needs. The family is the basic community that needs to be empowered so that unity can prevail. Disintegration and lack of unity we witness in society today can be attributed to the brokenness of the institution of the family. If the children do not learn the sense of pulling together from the family, it will be difficult for them to acquire it while growing up.
Dear friends, faith is a gift from God that unites all the believers. God provides for those who put their trust in him in season and out of season. He does not abandon those who hope in him. Hope in God is demonstrated by a proactive attitude and not passive lamentation about our bad conditions. Sometimes we pray but do not act in a way that shows we really want or believe that our prayers will be answered.
Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 