Leftovers

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle B

2 Kgs 4:42-44

Eph 4:1-6

Jn 6:1-15

I’ve often wondered why there was so much left over when Jesus fed the 5000. I mean, he knew exactly how many people were there and how much they would eat. Why didn’t he give them just enough for their meal? Why did he overdo it? 

When Jesus gave miraculously, he always overdid it. He made 180 gallons of wine for the wedding feast at Cana. He overstuffed the 5000 so that there were 12 baskets of leftovers. When he told the apostles to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, their nets were filled to overflowing. 

Jesus does not want us to live simply at a subsistence level, he wants us to have abundance. If your children came to you hungry, would you just give them enough to get by, or would you ask if they wanted seconds? At my house, if you don’t ask for seconds I get offended. What’s wrong, didn’t you like it? When Jesus told his disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” he doesn’t mean we have to have just enough for today. He doesn’t want us to be hungry or thirsty or poor. He wants us to trust that God will take care of us, but he wasn’t talking about any specific quantity. He wants to give us seconds, and thirds and fourths.

The only limit to Jesus’ generosity is our willingness to receive it. It will keep coming until we say we are full, then it will come some more. 

Jesus does not want us to just get by; he wants us to have leftovers. 

There were 5000 there for the feast, but some people didn’t come, even though they had wanted to. Some people had to work that day. Some people had such a hard time getting their kids ready to go that they threw their hands up in frustration and stayed home. Some people just wanted to sleep in. Some people only went to see Jesus a couple of times a year, when the mood hit them. Some people dropped their children off, but didn’t stay themselves. Some people didn’t really believe in Jesus. Some found his message divisive and hard to accept. Some thought he was behind the times and what he was asking them to do was too difficult. Some people didn’t like Jesus’ heavy Galilean accent so decided not to bother. Some people didn’t like Jesus’ politics. Some stayed away because someone in the crowd had said or done something to offend them. Whatever the reason, they didn’t come, and they missed out on the feast. 

But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he patiently waited for them to eventually come back. And when they did, there would be leftovers enough for them, too.

The leftovers were for those who are not at the feast. The leftovers are for those leftover.

Two weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus sending his apostles out two by two into the towns to preach the good news. He told them that they were not to take anything with them but a walking stick and a pair of sandals. They were to rely totally upon the generosity of strangers. They were to have faith that God would provide for all that they needed, and they were in turn to heal the people of their physical maladies. When they returned they spoke in amazement of how much they received in return.

Then last week we heard that they were not even allowed a moment’s peace to rest and recharge. The masses kept coming and coming, and tired though he was, Jesus took pity on them and continued to teach them and heal them. Whenever they came to him he never turned them away.

And today Jesus tells his apostles that they must continue his work; that they must also have compassion for the lost sheep, and never give up on them. He told them to feed the people themselves. Don’t assume someone else will do it. Never assume the people will take care of themselves. You do it.

 Never throw out the leftovers. Never assume that they have everything they need. Always have something for those who come, no matter how inopportune the time. Jesus of Nazareth is no longer here with us. It is now up to his disciples to continue the feast.

This entire chapter of the gospel of John, chapter six, is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. For the next few weeks we will delve deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Bread of Life. It begins with an absurd outpouring of generosity by Jesus. He gives the crowds their fill. And it ends with most of those people abandoning Jesus and his message. That seems to be the pattern, but that doesn’t mean we are to ever give up on them. Even though almost all abandoned Jesus, he still left them all his Body and Blood. He still died on the cross for them.

We are never to give up on the leftovers. St. Paul says today that we are to work patiently, with humility and gentleness, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. We are never to stop working to bring the lost sheep back into the fold. We are never to reject those who come late to the feast. And if it is us who have left and returned, left and returned again, we will still be welcome. 

What if Jesus had said to those who came late to the feast, “Sorry, you’re too late. There’s nothing left for you?” What if there was nothing left over? No, instead he says, “Come on over here, we’ve got these twelve baskets of leftovers just for you! And you know, they never get stale! They’re just as fresh and delicious as on the day I first gave them”.