17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
John 6:1-15
For the next five Sundays we will be reading from the Gospel of Saint John, even though this is the ‘year of Mark’. This gives us the opportunity to meditate on the mystery of the Eucharist which is so well defined in the Sixth Chapter of John’s Gospel. Notably, when John describes the Last Supper, he does not deal with the institution of the Blessed Eucharist but on the aspect of service of which Jesus gives us an example in the washing of the disciple’s feet.
The miracle of the ‘Loaves and Fishes’ is an anticipation of the Last Supper and many of the aspects of the institution of the Eucharist are present here also. Jesus noticed that people were hungry and in need of help from God. Jesus calls the people to sit and be served. Jesus uses ‘fruits of the earth and work of human hands’ to feed those who come. And Jesus ‘gave thanks’. Eucharist means ‘giving thanks’.
Thanksgiving is the movement of returning to the giver. We can picture it as a double movement. Firstly comes the downward movement of God’s giving to us. The second movement is the return upwards to God in praise and thanksgiving. Praise is concerned with the giver, while thanks centres more on the gift. When a small child receives a gift there is a spontaneous hug of thanks even before the gift is unwrapped. An older child’s thanks will depend on the gift and the greater the gift, the more profuse will be the thanks. As people mature they will appreciate the generosity of the donor and their thanks will turn to praise. Praise turns the attention on the Giver.
Primitive religions offered sacrifice as a way of showing appreciation for what they received from the deity. Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice by giving up his body on the cross and as we partake in the sacrifice and sacrament of Eucharist our prayer and thanksgiving are united with His eternally. The first attitude in preparing for Eucharist is to grow in appreciation of God’s gifts to us along the road of life. Then we turn to God praising the Giver and offering thanks for the Gifts.