Miracle on the Hill
Michiel Peeters - Let’s imagine the Gospel scene: Jesus is speaking to a large crowd somewhere in the countryside, perhaps on a beautiful hill near the lake of Galilee. It’s getting late, and they are in a deserted place, but the people don’t want to leave; they want to hear more. The disciples then become worried and say, “Lord, send them away, so that they can buy food.” Jesus answers, “Give them some food yourselves.” As if to say: “You have been with me for a long time; let me see what you have learned?”
How would I act in this circumstance?
The disciples still act according to common wisdom: “It’s impossible to feed them all, because we have only a little food ourselves.” Then Jesus takes the situation in hand. He makes the crowd sit down. Next, he prays. To pray is to say: God, you are everything. I have a desire. In this case, I would like these people, who have been looking for me, to be fed also with bread for their road. This is my desire. But not my will, but yours may be done. Then he distributes what he has. “They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.”
Then there is the other scene described by St. Paul in the second reading: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” It is what we do in every Eucharist: “As we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation.”
