17th – SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME  – B – 2021

Ø  Last Sunday God, by the mouth of prophet Jeremiah, promised to Israel that he will give them shepherds that will really take care of the sheep.  

Ø  Today we see this shepherd, that is Jesus. Mark will say that Jesus felt compassion because they saw the people like sheep without a shepherd.   

Ø  Let us see what the Lord says to us today through the following readings.  

THE BOOKS OF KINGS

ü  We find in our bibles two books of Kings, the first and the second.   

ü  In the Hebrew Bible they are organized in a different way  

ü  In our Catholic Bible these two books are situated after the two books of Samuel and before the two books of Chronicles.    

ü  The first book narrates   

o   The succession of Solomon to the throne of David.    

o   The kinship of Solomon. The author has a great interest in presenting the grandiosity of this kingdom and Solomon’s wisdom.  

o   After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided between his two sons.   

o   The Synchronic narration of the life of these two kingdoms: Israel in the North and Judah in the South.  

o   The cycle of Elijah, the great prophet.   

ü  The second book narrates   

o   The continuation of the synchronic narration of the history of both kingdoms until the fall of Israel. 

o   After the fall of Israel, the author continues to narrate the history of Judah until its fall.   

o   The cycle of the prophet Elisha, Elijah’s disciple. 

o   The fall of the Kingdom of Judah.   

FIRST READING -  2 Kgs 4:42-44

v  Somebody brings to Elisha 20 barley loaves and some grains

v  Elisha orders the man to give the loaves to the people that are there.   

v  The one who brought the loaves, a servant, exclaims, impossible, probably he thinks that 20 loaves are not enough for 100 people. He thinks with a human mind.  

v  Elisha insists to distribute the loaves among the people. The reason for that is because God has said that there will even be leftovers.

v  There are situations in our lives when we think that everything is lost, we think with a human logic and we probably are right, but in that situation trust in our Creator and God    has to enter in our life, because there is something else, not something but someone else.     

v  After doing everything that is in our human capacity, we need to trust and walk in the darkness confident that someone goes with us, and with his light some day we will see. This someone is Jesus who has said to us “I will be with you always until the end of time.”   

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
    and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
    and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
    and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
    to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

v  This is a psalm of praise to our God and Lord who provides to preserve the life he has given to us.   

v  The first stanza is an invitation to praise God who takes care of us. 

v  The second stanza says something that made me think:  you open your hand
    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

v  I asked myself, then, why is there so much hunger on our planet?  Humans and animals die from hunger…  How can we explain this?  How can the Word of God say in the psalm “you give them their food in due season.”

v  Maybe, we can find the explanation in our human selfishness that, moves us to accumulate, while others are in need. The earth and its fruits were given by God to all, not only to some.   

v  If we are attentive to the silent and invisible presence of our God, we will discover how many wonders happen around us, most of the time,  in very small things.

v  How many persons do good to others.   

GOSPEL– Jn 6:1-15

      This Sunday we will read the multiplication of the loaves narrated in the Gospel of John.  

      Although John, generally, uses a very peculiar and different way to narrate than the other evangelists, this text is very similar to the others. .   

      The four evangelists narrate the first multiplication of the loaves, in which Jesus feeds five thousand men with two fish and five loaves. Matthew and Mark narrate a second multiplication of the loaves where Jesus feeds 4000 men with seven loaves and some small fish.(Mk 8, Mt 15:32-39)

      If we pay attention as we read it, we perceive in this gospel an echo of the first reading.  

      A large crowd follows Jesus because they have seen the signs (miracles) the cures…   

      They come, according to the text, because they have seen the marvels made for the sick.   

      We may probably be right in saying that a large number comes because Jesus has done something good for them. 

      Jesus has come to this place because he wants that his friends rest, and he also needs to rest.   

      Jesus sees the crowd coming toward him, and he forgets about his resting. Instead he asks Philip, where can we find bread to feed to feed this crowd.   

      The answer seems the copy of the answer of Elisha’s servant, it is impossible to feed so many people.  

      Another disciple, willing to help, says there is here a boy with five loaves and two fish, and he adds, but what is this for so many people?   

      They have looked for solutions, they have tried, then when they have exhausted all the possibilities

      Jesus does what he had already thought, but he wanted those men, his friends to act on their own and look for solutions, as they will have to do later in their missions, in their service to others.  

      Jesus gives the bread to the crowd until they are satisfied, and they collect 12 baskets of leftovers.     

      The last paragraph is left for our own reflection and meditation.   

SECOND READING  – Ef 4:1-6

v  Paul is in prison, he is a prisoner for the Lord, as he says. 

v  In  prison, he has reflected and thought in his communities, the communities he has established. He feels the need to continue accompanying them in their first steps, like a mother does with her child.        

v  He invites them to behave in a way worthy of their vocation.  

v  And he gives a list of the necessary virtues for the human and fraternal relationships. At the end he says, “striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” How much we need union and peace. We are called to be promoters of peace.  

v  The second paragraph is a call to unity.

CLARETIAN CORNER

FROM Mª ANTONIA PARÍS TO SAINT ANTHONY MARY CLARET

To Most Rev. Anthony Mary Claret,  Archbishop

House of Mary Most Holy - Tremp Teaching Sisters,  March 20 1867

My dear Father in Our Lord Jesus Christ, on due time I have received your letter from the 2nd of the present month, it has given a great consolation for me; and I have delayed my response to you because I was expecting the letter from the Bishop, which has not arrived until today. He tells me that from what I have written to him and still more from what the Archbishop of Tarragona says to him, he sees that it is necessary that we go to Reus. 

 […]

Please let me know if we need a passport to go to Reus, we needed one to go to Cuba, but being Reus so close maybe it is not required; if it is, please tell me who must do it and what are the steps to follow, because being the bishop away, it is difficult to ask him.   

If Your Excellency sees the bishop tell him that if he cannot obtain the approval of our Constitutions, at least try to obtain from His Holiness permission to admit to the first profession, those who have entered the Order without dowries, those who might not have them, because this will avoid the difficulties that any Prelate might have. I ask your Excellency to pray God insistently and Mary Most Holy to obtain this grace of the approval of our Constitutions; we always pray for you.    

Receive the most affectionate and sincere respects of all your humble and obedient Daughters, while the most unworthy of all asks your holy and paternal blessing.   

Mª Antonia de San Pedro, religious

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

RR. María Inmaculada Misioneras Claretianas. Cartas de los orígenes 259. Madrid 2009. (I have made the translation)

Conferencia Episcopal Española. Sagrada Biblia, versión oficial. Madrid 2012.