2024-07-28 Seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time

 Seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time

 


2 Kings 4:42-44

The “food from the first fruits” is a holy offering (Leviticus 23:20) brought on the last day of the harvest. According to the festival instructions, it is to be delivered to the priest who is to offer it before the LORD. 

In 2 Kings 4, however, it is brought to the prophet Elisha who instructs that it be offered to the people who number in their hundreds, saying that it will not only be enough but there will be leftovers.

The abundance is made possible by 
  • God’s grace of a bountiful harvest.
  • It was initiated by the generosity of an anonymous giver from the village of Baal-shalishah, the modern village of Kafr Thulth near present-day Lod about 15 miles SE of Tel Aviv. 
  • It is shared with others because of the recipient’s (Isiah) generosity.
  • All are included because an administrator is concerned about equity.
  • Through this sharing the community becomes holy.
  • The passage depicts the miracle of daily existence: human community and holy living are dependent upon the abundant providing of God, human generosity and willingness to share, and attention to equity.

Source: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-2-kings-442-44-2


Psalm 145:10-18


The main subject of Psalm 145 is the eternal kingship of the Lord. Psalm 145 is designated as a “song of praise” (Tehillah) and is the only one called thus.
The Talmud recognizes its unique identity as a song of praise by saying, “Everyone who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come”. In Jewish practice this psalm is recited twice in the morning and once in the evening service. The Talmud commends all who repeat it three times a day as having a share in the world to come. 

Source; https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-psalm-14510-18-4



John 6:1-15

This is the fourth sign according to John’s chronology — 2:11 (Wedding at Cana), 4:54 (healing a nobleman's son in a town about 20 miles away) and 5:5 (Jesus healed the lame man by the pool in Bethesda)

The significance of collecting 12 wicker baskets of leftovers shows that Jesus has enough for all the 12 tribes of Israel. The body of Christ received in the Most Blessed Sacrament of Communion is the food available to all his followers.

John's account of the miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fish, is a theophany (revelation of God to mankind) mentioned in all four Gospels but John's version differs in 3 ways from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, and Luke 9:10-17) 
  1. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is moved with pity and feeds the crowds. In John's Gospel, he uses the situation to test Philip asking him, 'Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?'
  2. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus feeds them bread after giving a blessing, but in John's version, he feeds them barley loaves - this is the food of the poor after giving thanks (Greek eucharisteo)
  3. Lastly in the Synoptic Gospels, he feeds them 2 fish (Greek ichthys) whereas in John's version, he feeds them dry fish (Greek opsarion)
Self-examination: Do we follow Jesus expecting miracles like the crowd of 5,000 or do we follow Jesus because of his redemptive presence as the Bread of Eternal life


Source: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-john-61-21-4

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