Divine intervention in the lives of people is a
theme from the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The account of the
early days of difficulty of Jesus followers with the religious authorities of
the Temple in the Acts of the Apostles come to a resolution when a respected
teacher and leader of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, advises that they let the Jesus
movement run its course. If it is like previous popular presumptions to be the
Messiah it will fail. If it is of God, then they will not be able to stop it
and they do not want to be fighting against God. In the Gospel of John,
according to Friar Jude Winkler, the Divinity of Jesus is strongly presented.
The miracles presented by John contain much symbolic language. Friar Jude notes
that the text today is part of a fulfillment of Psalm 23. Jesus is the Lord who
is the Divine Shepherd. He has them recline in green pastures. They are all fed
with 5 loaves and 2 fishes (7 is the perfect number). There are 12 baskets
remaining for the tribes of Israel. After the feeding, Jesus leads the
multitude by still waters. Modern commentary on the multiplication of loaves
and fishes has sometimes sought to rationalize this gathering as the sharing of
some food brought by a few with the multitude. The decision for believers
echoes the discussions led by Gamaliel. If this Lord and Shepherd is Son then
we are truly invited to an eternal relationship in Love. If not, it will
diminish.
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