Daily Readings - Sun Jul 28 2024

⁴²Now a certain man arrived from Baal-Shalishah, carrying, for the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new grain in his satchel. But he said, "Give it to the people, so that they may eat.⁴³And his servant responded to him, "What amount is this, that I should set it before a hundred men?" But he said again: "Give it to the people, so that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat, and there shall be still more.’ ⁴⁴And so, he set it before them. And they ate, and there was still more, in accord with the word of the Lord

Ephesians

Chapter 4

¹And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called²with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity³Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace⁴One body and one Spirit: to this you have been called by the one hope of your calling⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all

John

Chapter 6

¹After these things, Jesus traveled across the sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias²And a great multitude was following him, for they saw the signs that he was accomplishing toward those who were infirm³Therefore, Jesus went onto a mountain, and he sat down there with his disciples⁴Now the Passover, the feast day of the Jews, was near⁵And so, when Jesus had lifted up his eyes and had seen that a very great multitude came to him, he said to Philip, "From where should we buy bread, so that these may eat?⁶But he said this to test him. For he himself knew what he would do⁷Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii of bread would not be sufficient for each of them to receive even a little.⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him⁹"There is a certain boy here, who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are these among so many?¹⁰Then Jesus said, "Have the men sit down to eat." Now, there was much grass in that place. And so the men, in number about five thousand, sat down to eat¹¹Therefore, Jesus took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting down to eat; similarly also, from the fish, as much as they wanted¹²Then, when they were filled, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments that are left over, lest they be lost.¹³And so they gathered, and they filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left over from those who had eaten¹⁴Therefore, those men, when they had seen that Jesus had accomplished a sign, they said, "Truly, this one is the Prophet who is to come into the world.¹⁵And so, when he realized that they were going to come and take him away and make him king, Jesus fled back to the mountain, by himself alone

Sermon

The readings today remind us of God’s boundless generosity and the call to live in unity and humility. In the first reading from 2 Kings, we see Elisha, a prophet of God, being offered a small amount of bread by a man from Baal-Shalishah. Though the servant questions whether such a small offering can satisfy a hundred men, Elisha trusts in God’s promise and instructs him to distribute the bread. Miraculously, there is more than enough for everyone, and some is even left over. This story highlights God’s ability to provide abundantly, even when human resources seem insufficient. The Gospel reading from John 6 presents a similar theme of divine abundance through the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus, seeing the hunger of the crowd, takes the meager offering of five barley loaves and two fish from a young boy and multiplies it to feed everyone. The leftovers fill twelve baskets, showing that God’s gifts are not only sufficient but also overflowing. This miracle points to Jesus as the Bread of Life, who satisfies our deepest hungers and calls us to trust in His providence. Both readings are connected by the theme of trust in God’s provision and the importance of generosity. The second reading from Ephesians reminds us that living in unity and humility is essential for reflecting God’s love in the world. Just as the bread was shared among the crowd and the leftovers gathered to prevent waste, we are called to share our own gifts and resources with others, ensuring that no one is left without. Today, let us reflect on how we can trust in God’s abundance, live with humility, and generously share what we have, so that all may experience the richness of His love.