9 April 2027 · Latin Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.” John 6:11
The council is enraged and wants to put the apostles to death. Then one man stands up: Gamaliel, “a Pharisee in the council… a teacher of the law, respected by all the people.” He is the teacher at whose feet Saul of Tarsus was trained, and later Jewish tradition honours him as one of the great masters of the Law. He has the apostles sent out and gives the council a lesson in patience drawn from recent history: Theudas and Judas the Galilean both gathered followers and both came to nothing. “So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Gamaliel is not a Christian, but he is a just man who fears God, and his counsel saves the apostles' lives. The Church has been grateful to him ever since; a later Christian legend even counted him among the friends of the first disciples. The apostles are flogged and released, and Luke records the astonishing reaction: “they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.” The Psalm is their song: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
From today until the end of the Third Week of Easter the weekday Gospels walk through the sixth chapter of St John, the great chapter of the Bread of Life. It begins with a sign. “The Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near,” John notes, and a large crowd follows Jesus up the mountain by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus tests Philip: “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip calculates: six months' wages would not be enough. Andrew finds “a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Barley loaves were the bread of the poor, and they recall the prophet Elisha, who fed a hundred men with twenty barley loaves. Jesus has the people sit on the green grass; then he “took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them.” The Greek word for giving thanks is eucharistein. The evangelist wants us to see the Eucharist in this meal, celebrated near the Passover. After all have eaten “as much as they wanted,” Jesus says: “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost,” and twelve baskets are filled. The Church still treats every fragment of the consecrated Host with that same care. When the crowd tries to seize him and make him king, Jesus withdraws alone to the mountain. He will not be a king who only hands out bread; he will be the King who gives his own flesh as bread.
Theme: “He distributed them to those who were seated, as much as they wanted.”
Gamaliel's counsel, the joy of suffering for the name, and the sign of the loaves.
“The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established.” Proverbs 19:21
“So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;” Acts 5:38
Apply: Before judging a new movement or person in the Church, pray for a week and ask: could this be of God?
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
“As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” Acts 5:41
Apply: When you are mocked for your faith this week, answer with a smile and a silent prayer for the one who mocks.
“So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”” 2 Kings 4:43
“When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”” John 6:12
Apply: Receive Communion this Sunday with special reverence, and at home waste no food for one whole week.
What is of God cannot be overthrown, and those who suffer for Jesus' name rejoice.
Jesus takes our little gifts, gives thanks and feeds the multitude, and gives himself as the Bread of Life.
Take-home resolution: Offer Jesus one “five loaves” gift each day this week.
Dear friends, the council wants to kill the apostles, and a wise teacher named Gamaliel stands up. He says: if this plan is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them (Acts 5:38–39). Two thousand years later, the Church is still here. Not because we are strong, but because the work is God's.
The apostles are flogged, and they go out rejoicing that they were worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. What a change from the frightened men behind locked doors! The risen Lord does not take away the suffering, but he fills it with joy.
In the Gospel a boy gives Jesus five barley loaves and two fish. It seems like nothing. Jesus takes them, gives thanks, and distributes them, and five thousand people eat as much as they want (John 6:11). Our gifts always seem small. But in Jesus' hands they become enough, and more than enough.
Notice the words: he took, he gave thanks, he distributed. These are the words of the Mass. And at the end Jesus says: gather up the fragments, so that nothing may be lost. At the altar today he will feed us with the true Bread, his own Body. Let us bring him our five loaves, and leave nothing of his gift wasted. Alleluia. Amen.
Children, a little boy had a small lunch: five small breads and two fish. He gave it all to Jesus. Jesus thanked God and shared it, and more than five thousand people ate! When we give Jesus even a little, he can do great things with it. What will you give Jesus today?
Lord Jesus Christ, you fed the multitude with five barley loaves and gave thanks to the Father for the bread. Give us the wisdom of Gamaliel to recognize the work of God, the joy of the apostles in suffering for your name, and the generosity of the boy who gave you all he had. Feed us with the Bread of Life, and let nothing of your gifts be lost. Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.