APRIL 4, 2008: FRIDAY OF 2ND WEEK OF EASTER: ACTS 4: 34–42; JOHN 6:1–15
JESUS TOOK THE LOAVES OF BREAD, GAVE THANKS, AND PASSED THEM AROUND. By the time John wrote this account of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, well over fifty years had passed since the Lord Jesus had risen and ascended to the right hand of the Father. During that time the Church has spread widely, and was represented in the major countries of the world as it was known at the time. The Eucharist was celebrated in all the communities of faith throughout this period, and was the central act of community meetings. Scripture readings and the sharing of the Lord’s supper were sources of the fraternal union among believers that created a sense of belonging to one another though union with God in the glorified Christ who remained present in the community he founded. Life with God was experienced as at once intimate communion with him and warm community with fellow believers. Belonging to a living community of faith created and maintained a sense of being a loved member a family whose head is God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Eucharist created this community and was the expression of its soul.
We are surprised then that John does not speak directly of the Eucharist even though he gives a long account of Jesus’ actions and words at the Last Supper. The other three Evangelists recount with care the precise words and actions of Jesus as he instituted the Eucharist. St. Paul also is quite explicit in his reference to our Lord’s action and its importance at this final meal with his chosen disciples. He stresses the holiness of the table where this supper is repeated by members of the Church who are to be holy as they participate in the mystery of this sacred meal.
Moreover, the three synoptic Gospels also recount the same miracle of the multiplication of the loaves that John tells of in today’s text. The words they employ make it clear that they viewed this miracle as a symbol of the greater wonder of the sacrament of the Eucharist. John too intends his version of this event as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. For instance, he employs the term eucharistesas (having given thanks) where the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, who have two accounts of miraculous feedings, use the word eulogesen (he blessed) in the one only to replace it with eucharistesas in the other text. John depicts the Lord as having his disciples gather up all the fragments (klasmata), the Didache, written about the same time as John’s Gospel, understood this text to refer in a hidden way to the Lord’s supper.