Jesus feeds a huge crowd in Sunday’s gospel on five loaves and two fish. John’s gospel refers Jesus’ healing and feeding actions not as miracles but as signs. A sign involves a concrete and physical action that points beyond what we see or experience.
A stop sign points to an intersection with busy cross traffic people may not see. A billboard with someone in cap and gown points to the unseen benefits of a college degree. In John’s gospel five loaves that feed thousands become a sign of who Jesus is.
The Church breaks off from reading Mark’s gospel and for five Sundays reads from John 6 with its theological reflection on Jesus as the bread of lfie. The mathematics alone—5 loaves, 2 fish, 12 baskets of leftovers — signals this feeding points to more than we see and draws us into deeper reflection.
Occasionally, I hear people take the miraculous out of Jesus’ feeding 5,000. In their concrete explanation Jesus convinces people to share the food they have for themselves. Once on a study trip to Corinth, the tour leader seated me for lunch with two older Greek women. I don’t speak Greek, not did they speak English but that didn’t deter them from signaling me to that I should eat the bitter greens in the salad. So I did.
Then graciously the women proceeded to open big purses and offer large, carefully wrapped squares of moussaka. It looked like lasagna. They had packed their own cold lunch. I accepted.
But is this the case in the gospel? The explanation assumes that after Jesus blesses the five loaves and two fish, the people in the crowd break open their stashes and share the food they have carried with them. The miracle and the message become sharing what one has.
The story, however, does not include these details. We have to add them. The story never mentions people with pockets and bundles full of stashed food. Explaining the feeding in this concrete way closes off interpretation; it doesn’t open our minds to the mystery of who Jesus is and what he reveals.
- To what do you see the multiplication of the loaves pointing?