"They shall eat and have some left-over"
(2 Kings 4:43)
 
In this summer time when nature allows us the opportunity to share the open air with friends comes the message of a God who is always provident. The greenness of the parks and backyards gives us the opportunity to play, to have fun and enjoy food in abundance. Both the Prophet Elisha and St. John the Evangelist tell us about food and abundance. Jesus presents himself as the Bread of Life.
 
The curious thing about the two stories is that they start with certain disbelief, but God, who is always provident, does not leave his children hungry. Once again the models of the Old Testament stories are magnify themselves with the presence of Jesus in the New Testament. If in the first reading the prophet Elisha, man of God, feeds a hundred, in the Gospel Jesus feeds five thousand. St. Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits, said in Latin: “Deus semper maior”, that is, God is not outdone in generosity.
 
If we look at both the Old and New Testaments we can notice that the miracles of feeding the multitude begin with two people who even we don’t know their names. In the NT story all we know is that was a boy who gave what he had, five loaves of bread and two fish! His generosity was multiplied by Jesus to feed the multitude of followers. The generosity of a person makes possible a greater and more abundant goodness of God.
 
In the story of Saint John we see that "Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed them." It is an anticipatory sign of his unlimited dedication to giving his life for others on the Last Supper. In each Eucharist we celebrate Jesus who is the "Bread of Life" that is broken and distributed to all. Let us pray that by echoing the generosity of God and his abundance of gifts, we may be able to give our lives for the service of others.