17th Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year B By Rev. Fr. Lucas Binnah Junior

First Reading: II Kings 4:42-44 /Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:10-11.15-16.17-18 (R. 16) Second Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6 /Gospel Acclamation: Luke 7:16 /Gospel: John 6:1-15

Theme: Let No One Go Hungry

Last Sunday, God indicted the shepherds, the leaders who fail to discharge the duties expected of them. He bemoaned the terrible plight of the sheep, the governed, the masses, and proposed a paradigm shift inspired by his own style of leadership – servant leadership – exemplified by the selfless life of Christ, the type which identifies with the people, shows concern and is sensitive to their needs. Today, another dimension of caring for those we live with is brought to bear on all the readings with a very clear message, namely, that if we all learn to share, no one will ever go hungry, or be in need, and our problems as a people will reduce. This is what we must preach and practise. Little no wonder that these readings coincide with the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Such a generation are usually lonely and have been seriously devastated by Covid-19.

In the first reading, a man from Baal-shalishah shared the first fruits of his produce with the Prophet Elisha. He gave him twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain. Notice that it was his first fruits, and that, the grains he gave out were fresh. That is, he gave off his very best. When we give, we must do it generously, wholesomely and cheerfully. Those who give bogusly, sparingly and grudgingly always lose their blessing. Meanwhile, Prophet Elisha, the man of God, had a band of about hundred prophets under him. When the loaves and grains were presented to him, he also shared with the other prophets saying: “Give them to the men that they may eat.” Prophetically, God’s word accompanied this gesture: “for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” Accordingly, they ate and had some scraps left (cf. II Kgs. 4:42c-44). Sharing satisfies all!

As a matter of fact, the God of Jesus Christ is a God who gives generously to all his creatures. He even sent Jesus Christ to die for all humanity. The Psalmist takes cognisance of this, and thus sings: “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, Lord, and you satisfy us” (Ps. 145:15-16). To show the depth of God’s generosity and to set it as an example for us, Jesus blessed, actually said a prayer of thanksgiving over five barley loaves and two fish. With this, he was able to feed over five thousand people and surprisingly, twelve basketfuls of leftovers were gathered. Like the first reading which recorded surplus quantity of food, the Gospel also experienced a similar bumper harvest of fragments after the group sharing. Does this ring a bell? The fact that there were leftovers is an indication that everybody was satisfied, and that nobody had cause to grumble, be jealous and greedy, terrorise, steal, kidnap, rob and kill others for their needs. If everyone’s needs are met, there is little or no room for greed and avarice!

There is a story of the Ubuntu culture mostly found in southern Africa. An anthropologist proposed a game by which children were to compete in a 100-meter dash. The first person was to carry a basketful of sweets. When the whistle blew for them to run, each of them held one another’s hands and ran together to the finish line and then shared the sweets equally. On finding out why they did that, the children uttered a single word, ubuntu, that how can one be happy when the others are sad? They understood and expressly lived ubuntu, a philosophy which means I am because we are.

Indeed, in a world sunk in self-centredness which easily manifests in nepotism, racism and bigotry, we have many lessons to learn from today’s readings. We wonder why a continent like Africa with substantial natural and human resources still wallows in poverty. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider, and the rate of unemployment across board is alarming. Corruption has changed the socio-economic landscape into a vicious cycle of retrogression, malaise and death. Some leaders enrich themselves illegally and with impunity while the masses are starved to death. Also, sometimes, the masses ‘milk’ politicians of the monies which are to be used for the common good. They saddle them with school fees, hospital bills and other bread-and-butter burdens. They invite politicians to funerals, weddings, festivals and other social gatherings, and expect them to make donations. Inability to donate is a bad omen – they may lose elections! The result is that basic social amenities cannot be provided since money finds its way into individual pockets. If we do not change this attitude and stop the culture of death, development will continue to elude us.

Furthermore, such attitudes create bureaucratic systems which thrive on bribery and ‘whom you know.’ Hence, there is lack of equal opportunities for all. In the spiritual realm, if such structures of sin and evil are not uprooted, we stop short of the glory and blessing of God. We must get it right, and everything will be well with us. Surprisingly, some countries with little resources have been able to overcome their scarcity with success stories. Surely, if there is a will, there is a way!

To help us change our way of life from selfishness to selflessness, the second reading admonishes us to adopt a culture of sharing, unity and solidarity. We read: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4- 6). This means that we are all creatures of God, and as such, we are brothers and sisters of the same father, God the almighty. Therefore, we need to bear with each other in love and to be eager in maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If this is our basic mental constitution, we will practise the virtue of charity, of sharing ourselves and our resources so that all will be satisfied. If the national cake is shared equally, evenly and justly without fear or favour, suspicions, violence, agitations, uprisings, vandalism and underdevelopment will be checkmated. However, this is not to suggest we fold our hands and wait for manna to fall from heaven. With the grace of God and natural endowments available to all, everyone must work hard to merit and sustain their livelihood.

Furthermore, we need to note that, in the eyes and hands of Jesus Christ, our little best is always much! Philip, a native of Bethsaida where the miracle took place in the Gospel, thought that feeding a mammoth crowd required over six month’s salary (200 denarii). At worst, he saw this as an impossibility given the time frame. He underestimated the power of Jesus Christ. However, in the presence of Christ, nothing is impossible! On the other hand, Andrew’s faith was a bit deeper than Philip’s. Andrew brought a young boy with five loaves of poor man’s bread (barley loaves) and two little fish. He believed that Jesus could do the unimaginable when he is moved by faith. When we see nothing, Christ sees something. When we think little, Christ thinks big. When we see the coward Simon, he sees the courageous Peter, the rock on whose faith the future Christian church would be founded. When we see the one-man Abram, God sees the many-nations Abraham. If we can offer our natural talents, however insignificant they may be, Jesus can multiply them for us. If we can trust God with what we have and are, we shall see the glory of God unfold in miracles, breakthroughs and testimonies. All we need to remember is that Christ will always challenge our faith to be put into action. If we want to see the blessing of God, faith and action must combine!

We need to note, dearly beloved, that once the self is put at the centre of affairs, we cannot achieve harmony since individualism will keep the union divided. However, when everyone tames the self and we all die to self, a new culture of ‘we-us-our-ours’ mentality will be born. That is, when we surrender the ‘I-me-my-mine’ egotistic tendency to the Holy Spirit, each one will then seek the interests of the other, and at the end, everyone will be a beneficiary. We must seek the interest of others by sharing our time, energy, money and resources. By being other-minded, we will be able to live in peace. God is in all and works through all. He is a father with many children. He loves all and expects us to love one another. And this is where we are also called to care for the elderly in society and our grandparents in particular. We have a common responsibility to pray for them, cure them of the disease of loneliness and activate solidarity networks in society.

As a significant component of the Catholic laity, the mission of older people is to keep memories alive and to transmit the faith to the younger generations. They are our companions on the common journey of all Christians. All the elderly, including those who are not grandparents, need a family environment in which to live, and families need to be aware of the role played by older members. The Church, through the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life teaches that when we isolate the elderly by confining them to old people’s homes or hospices, where we leave them in the care of others without the closeness and concern of family members, we disfigure and impoverish the family itself. According to Pope Francis, this also deprives young people of a necessary connection to their roots and of wisdom that the young cannot achieve on their own (cf. Fratelli Tutti, no.19).

The generation of the elderly is falling into oblivion in certain respects. Sometimes, we fail to understand the generational hazard of old age, and this has made us treat the elderly cruelly. Recently, a young lady poured hot water on her aged mother accusing her of witchcraft. Also, some elderly people have been maltreated because of the somewhat ‘weird’ behaviour largely due to menopause and andropause. Others have been abused, abandoned and isolated, and the gravest sickness they suffer most is loneliness. We should not wait till they die to organise expensive funerals for them. We must care for them now. The theme for the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is I am with you always, and the Church teaches us that we should never remain distant from those who carry a cross. In view of this, we are encouraged, like Mary who visited her elderly cousin Elizabeth (cf. Lk. 1:39), to visit and reconcile with the elderly in our families and societies. We can also reach them via telephone or social media if we cannot practically and physically visit them for medical reasons. And there is a plenary indulgence granted for this exercise. A plenary indulgence is simply the remission of the entire temporal punishment for sin.

Beloved in Christ, let us pray that our minds may be enlightened and hearts warmed by grace, doused by mercy and touched by love, so that, together, we can build a better world based on equality, justice, fairness and above all, on sharing. Let us share ourselves until we are part of somebody and somebody is part of us. With this, we will be able to live in peace, progress and happiness; and the greatest happiness that can ever come to us is by making others happy. May God bless us with the spirit of sharing! Happy Grandparents and the Elderly Sunday! Remember: #Let-No-One-Go-Hungry#

By Rev. Fr. Lucas Binnah Junior  

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