At the onset of the ministry of Jesus, according to the Markan community, it was tremendously horrible. Jesus was rejected by his hometown. He sent his disciples to test the water from other villages and saw the situation of the people under the Herodian reign. People are unwittingly disapproving of the administration of King Herod due to the rampant violence created by the authority. Even the relatives of King Herod were involved in violence against people. And Jesus saw the misery, irony, and agony of the people under the hands of King Herod and his accomplices.
Consequently, many people are coming and joining in the way of Jesus. They are looking for hope from new spiritual concepts as well as salvation from God. From the desert to the shore, Jesus teaches and listens to the cry of the people. Almost five thousand people, excluding women and children, followed him on his journey. The result of this huge crowd is how to manage them, particularly feeding them. His disciples noticed this situation. They encountered a problem with how to feed them. Miraculously, out of five loaves and two pieces of fish, all of them ate, and they were filled with 12 baskets full of broken pieces of fish. The question is: how did it happen? Is this a miraculous act by Jesus?
I never question the miraculous acts of Jesus. In fact, I believed that this was a miracle done by Jesus himself. Let’s first discuss how the Jews have regarded food as sacred. In the Old Testament setting, food is significant in Jewish tradition. Every time there is a change in life, food is always part of it. Food is generally a symbol of God’s grace. If there is no food on the table, it means there is a scarcity of the grace of God. Further, they believe that if there is scarcity, it means that God has forsaken them. Even on the last day of Jesus life on earth, the Last Supper is a table food fellowship for his disciples in which they shared foods such as bread and wine. It shows that food is sacred for them. It manifests that the grace of God is abundant.
In today’s gospel, the five loaves and two pieces of fish symbolize scarcity. However, the crowd is manifesting, as the fellowship of the faithful can lead to an abundance of resources. It means that Jesus transforms the crowd’s mindset. As if there is seemingly a moment of inadequacy, God acts to transform it into having more than enough. This can be done through faith that God will provide. When people believe God will provide, the miraculous act of God will prevail. According to this belief, the faithful can have more than enough. I remember when I recited the Lord’s Prayer that was taught to us by Jesus. It is very clear in the prayer that the phrase “give us today our daily bread” means that God provides us with our daily needs, and we need to pray for it. Those people who have excess resources should share in order for others to do the same. This is a miracle, as is what happened in the feeding of the five thousand. Thus, those who have limited resources may have more.
Secondly, the Philippines is now the number-one importer of rice. In 1960, the country was the top rice producer and exporter to neighboring countries like Vietnam, China, etc. Rice is one of the main foods on our table; however, the price of it ranges from 50 to 60 pesos today. This is so disturbing. What happened to the election promise of PBBM that rice would sell out in the market at a price of 20 pesos per kilo? It is pure lies and scams. And due to the high cost of rice and other commodities, 58% of Filipinos are considered self-rated poor, according to the new SWS survey. More than 50 percent of Filipinos who consider themselves poor are alarming. Where is the compassion of this administration toward the suffering of the majority of Filipinos? If you are a faithful follower of God, then you may know what to do. You need to be vigilant in faith and prayer, so you may act accordingly.
Jesus expressed his compassion through the suffering of five thousand people when they followed him. His compassion is how to feed them in order to maintain their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. He responded to the appeals from his disciples. This is reality: when our companions notice the suffering of others, we need to act accordingly. Even if you have nothing to share, we need to respond and refer them to other people who have resources to help them. Immanuel Kant says that human beings have direct moral duties toward other human beings. Therefore, taking action for the sake of others is our moral duty. Nothing is wrong if we do something to others instead God commends us; even humans couldn’t recognize us.
To end this, Jesus took a great action to please the suffering of the crowd through the five loaves and two pieces of fish. Resources became abundant for them, and the scarcity was addressed immediately. In contrast, the current administration has taken pity action to address the suffering of the Filipino people. They have no sincere concern for addressing the problem; rather, they are still wasting people’s money by traveling locally and abroad, doing parties, and attending social gatherings to show the world that Filipinos are not suffering. Keep your faith in God, because God never ostracized us in this painful time. Admittedly, we created this suffering due to the exercise of our suffrage rights by voting for the wrong person to lead us. That’s why we’re politically suffering. Indeed, this earthly suffering is temporal (2 Corinthians 4:17–18). And through God’s hope, the transformation and joy of God’s grace will come to us forever (Romans 8:18).
Prayer
Provider God, hear our suffering now. Many Filipinos are suffering due to poor governance. Let Your power come unto us to give us more strength and empower us to become one again. Through your compassion, we are hoping for your presence now, as you have provided us before.
We utterly pray for God to give us our daily needs until the end of our lives. Amen.
