20th Sunday in Ordinary time
Readings:
Proverbs 9:1-6
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
Reflection:
I recently concelebrated Eucharist in Senden Village, Klaten, Indonesia. Senden Village is a small rural village, and from what I could see, seemed to be mostly made of rice farms. From what I could see, rice farming is back breaking work, in a hot sun, bringing with it a living, however humble that may be.
The Saturday night Mass was outdoors, in the “front yard” of the presbytery. I could tell from all the bunting and so on, that something special was being celebrated. I also noted a large contingent of Muslim people there: men, women, and children. I was unsure what this all meant.
It transpired the principal celebrant, Fr Widodo, a Passionist resident in Jakarta, had returned home to celebrate the third anniversary of his mother’s passing. The village, including the Muslim neighbours, had turned out in respect, friendship, and love.
The Gospel was the feeding of the five thousand with two loaves and five fish. Fr Widodo preached. And preached. And preached.
I was listening to bits of it on google translate. I would record a bit, google would translate it, and so on. I would get little snippets of what he was saying. He managed all this without notes, and seemingly, without an end in sight.
After 40 minutes, he came up for air. He invited me to the microphone to say a few words. I got out google translate and asked,” Apakah masih ada yang perlu dikatakan?” which translates as, “Is there anything left to say?”
Which is somewhat like I now feel as we have our fourth week reflecting on the Bread of Life. Is there anything left to say?
Of course, I am not denigrating the study of this wonderful gift: food and nourishment on our road of life. We can investigate it, study it, pronounce on it, preach on it, reflect on it, examine it, and explore it. All of which has its place. But at the end of the day, it is simple generosity and kindness, given in faith and love.
I did pick up a couple of little gems from Fr Widodo’s sharing. There could have been more, of course, but that was much as google translate could handle.
Firstly, he said, the only nourishment worth getting is that which is given to us by the poor and simple.
How true this is. I give from what is left over; they give from all they have. I have found the students in particular here incredibly generous in their sharing. At our meals, nothing is “mine.” It is all “ours.” We share from one plate.
His second gem was this thought: “Remember, this all started with just five loaves and two fish.”
It was a simple thought. Later that day I read Peter Addicoat’s beautiful reflection on that same day: a woman lovingly preparing a meal for her son, which is shared in total generosity.
Remember, this all started with five loaves and two fish.
In a small village in Indonesia, we re-lived that moment, sharing our simple food with dirt-poor rice farmers: Muslim, Christian, whoever, it didn’t matter.
But it did matter that we shared.
Peter Gardiner is a Passionist Priest.