2 Kings 4:42-44 – deacon rudy's notes

Welcome back for another edition of deacon rudy’s notes! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we’re going to break open the Word!

In today’s Gospel, we hear a familiar story proclaimed: the multiplication of fish and bread. And our first reading is linked to the Gospel. Jesus invites his disciples to sit and through God’s power, the Lord provides! That is so true in our own lives, isn’t it! We do our part, and the Lord will provide. There is no need to have stress or anxiety. Through God’s providence, we will get what we need if we trust in and live as disciples.

Our second reading comes to us from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. At one level, the reading is about Christian unity. And while that is certainly true, before Paul gets to unity, he talks about the effects of living out our call.

Paul says, “I … urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…” (Ephesians 4:1).

What does it mean to live in a manner worthy of the call you received?

What does it mean to live as disciples of Christ Jesus? Paul tells us that living out our call should manifest in humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another through love, (Ephesians 4:2-3).

The times we’re living through are so interesting, don’t you think? This is the age of the armchair quarterback! We live in a world where someone with zero medical or scientific training can go about or go online and spread all sorts of interesting medical advice about the pandemic. There are others with zero theological or pastoral training and zero experience as a pastor who bears responsibility for souls, yet somehow, they know better than our bishop or our pope about what our faith really means.

To the armchair quarterbacks out there who call themselves Christian, I’d like to ask if when you emphatically share your ideas, are you filled with humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another through love?

Paul reminds us that there is “one body and one Spirit,” (Ephesians 4:4), not the body of the live and let live as long as you agree with me. I’m sorry, but that’s not a Christian understanding of politics or church. We are one faith, one baptism, one body. Period.

How can you tell if you are on the right path? Well, does your position lead to unity in the community or in the Church? If it doesn’t, then it doesn’t necessarily mean you are wrong. It might mean you need to step back and prayerfully consider your point of view. We call that discernment.

We must remember that the Enemy is always planting seeds of fear and doubt. Sometimes that takes the form of reasonable-sounding and logical ideas. The Enemy wants to keep us in our heads and out of our hearts. The Enemy wants to keep us intellectually engaged so that we are distracted from our relationship with Christ Jesus. In this context, discernment means we need to dig a little deeper and try to understand the broader impact of our actions.

None of this is easy! Today’s Gospel reminds us that we can’t do this alone. Only through God’s providence can we be nourished and only then can we succeed with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

That leads us to homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I encourage you to prayerfully reflect on the following two questions. First, when was the last time you reflected on your call to be a disciple? Second, when you think of your calling, do the words humility, gentleness, patience, and love come to mind? If not, how would you describe your call?

I think doing our homework will help us be the intentional disciples we are called to be! Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image: Artist Unknown. PNG.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.
2. Williamson, Peter S. Ephesians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. One faith: 172-75
2. The Church is One: 813-22
3. Share of gifts in the communion of the Church: 814-15, 949-59
4. Baptism as foundation of communion among Christians: 1271
5. The Eucharist as thanksgiving: 1328-32
6. The miracle of the loaves and fishes prefigures the Eucharist: 1335

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072521.cfm
Lectionary: 110

Reading 1
2 Kings 4:42-44
A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
But his servant objected,
“How can I set this before a hundred people?”
Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.”
“For thus says the LORD,
‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.

Responsorial
Psalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food in due season;
you open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

Reading 2
Ephesians 4:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Alleluia
Luke 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has risen in our midst.
God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
John 6:1-15
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

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