If you enter in any Filipino house, the first thing that the owner will ask you, and it is almost like a greeting, is, “Have you eaten?”

The gospel for today is probably one of Jesus’ most popular miracles. It is so popular that it is one of the few miracles where you can read it in all four of the gospels. And in some gospels, this story is even told twice.

The gospel for today starts in a rather sad tone. And that is the death of John the Baptist. For Jesus, this was a turning point of his ministry. Jesus knew when John the Baptist died, that he would be next, his appointed time was not too far away. That’s why Jesus went to a deserted place to be by himself, perhaps to mourn the loss of a good friend and relative. Jesus may have also wanted to think about what he would do next for his ministry. In other words, Jesus wanted some space.

However, this time alone was cut short by a huge number of people who were following him and Jesus was overcome by pity for the crowd, stayed with them and cured their sick. And then, in order for the crowd not to go home hungry, he performed this very popular miracle of feeding a crowd of more than 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish and was even able to fill 12 wicker baskets of scraps.

In this gospel passage for this week, we can derive two points or lessons. The first is about Jesus’ selflessness. We see Jesus here who was clearly mourning and in need for some space for himself. And yet, when he saw the crowd, he first saw to their needs rather than his needs. Sadly, in our world today, we live in a “ME” generation. Before we participate in anything, our first question is “What is in it for ME?” It is always what we can get out of something first rather than what we can contribute. Former President of the United States, John F. Kennedy beautifully embodied this with his immortal quotation, “Ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. We live in a generation that is becoming more selfish than selfless. Why not try to give something first and expect nothing in return? Maybe if we do that, we would be a kinder and a more generous world.

Another point about today’s gospel is Jesus’ use of food to convey his message about the value of God’s providence and one’s sharing. In the Jewish culture and perhaps in many other cultures, a meal is not just a way to gain sustenance for one’s body but a meal has a lot to do with more social events. It is during meal time that many transactions happen, from dividing of shares of the harvest to formal asking for the bride’s hand from her father. In the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, Jesus gave us a precursor of the ritual that we will be doing in order to commemorate his sacrifice.

Many bible scholars have debated whether Jesus really made a miracle of multiplying the loaves and fish in order to feed those thousands of people or if, when Jesus divided the loaves and asked his disciples to distribute them, it was a sign from Jesus to encourage the people to share their food with others. For me, I think a change of heart from people who were selfish to become selfless and learn how to share is the greater miracle.

We are always worried about where we shall get our food for the following day. However, if we learn how to share, then we will realise that there will be more than enough, as evidenced by the number of wicker baskets that were filled with leftovers from the meal of the thousands.

The two lessons from today’s gospel show us first, how to become selfless. We may be in need ourselves, however it will be more pleasing to God if we attend to the needs of our brothers and sisters first before our needs and if we do that God will also share his time for us too. And second, if we learn how to share, a miracle is destined to happen and that is, that even with meagre resources, if shared, there will be more than enough for everybody.