Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: Now when Jesus heard this, 30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourself to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 10 On their return the apostles told him what they had done.

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9:10-17 he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. And he took them and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him;

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick 34 As he landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; 36 send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” 12 Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place.”

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 37 But he answered them,“You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred danarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five and two fish.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish - unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.”

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties. For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.” And they did so, and made them all sit down.

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9:10-17 and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Matthew 14:13-21Mark 6:30-44Luke 9: And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. 17 And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

TWF Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your Love. v. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. r. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit has taught the hearts of the faithful, grant us by the help of the same Holy Spirit to be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel Jn 6:24-35 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."

So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.? So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

can the master be far from the disciple? when did he arrive? how did he arrive? they filled their bellies but they have not understood the loaves as signs of God’s care for people miracle hunger

They are well acquainted with their physical hunger and deeply attached to filling it. But they are less acquainted with their spiritual hunger and unsure how to fill it. Jesus tells them that he himself is the one who feeds them with eternal food. The Father has approved this path and this process of entering into the eternal order.

So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

the Law enjoins them to imitate God, to do as God does but this is only possible if people are co- acting with God they can only do the works (the many) if they are united to The Work (the one) the works vs The Work

Jesus is the Work of God. Therefore, to do the works of God they must join the Work of God, to enter into the identity and mission of “him whom he has sent.” The external works have to connect with inner consciousness. Law (outer) and spirit (inner) must form a partnership.

So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

they know the Law is from God, for Moses, the lawgiver, provided manna in the wilderness where bread was not available by natural means, it was provided by supernatural means, that is, bread from heaven this miracle means the Law which Moses gave is from God the Law and the manna

The bread from heaven in the past was pieces of manna scattered on the earth. It was physical food, but even as physical food it was not meant to validate Moses. It was meant to reveal God. Jesus’ Father is the ultimate giver of the true bread from heaven, and he is giving it at all times. This true bread from heaven is spiritual life for the world. It is wider than the history and the people of Israel. It connects alienated Creation to its Source. This bread is its own reality.

So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Jesus himself is the Bread of Life whoever comes to him will enter into a relationship with the eternal and so they will never feel spiritual hunger or spiritual thirst “Sir, give us this bread always.”

four attempts to adjust the consciousness of the crowd “When did you arrive?” “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Conventional religious consciousness stops short of considering the deeds as signs that reveal the deeper world of Spirit. In a similar way, those persons with this consciousness are concerned about actions that can be seen but not about the interiority of the actor, the place that enables the actions to be performed. Their consciousness is locked into the visible, material, and temporal. The invisible, spiritual, and eternal elude them.

four attempts to adjust the consciousness of the crowd “When did you arrive?” “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” “Sir, give us this bread always.”