Please read the passage before the homily.
Five thousand people stopped by Jesus’ place to visit and Jesus fed them. John gives us no information that the crowd was hungry, or that he had taught them all day, or that it was supper time. It would take over a half-year salary to feed the crowd. Against all objections, Jesus decided to feast them with bread and fish on the mountain.
There is no limit to the gifts God has prepared for us. The five loaves and two fish could feed more than five thousand people. If the five thousand men did not include children and women, then Jesus fed close to ten thousand people with enough left over to feed a thousand more.
Jesus welcomed them all. There likely were people of every class, temperament, and background present, but Jess welcomed them all. Jesus came for them all, not only for a few of them.
We are challenged to have the same welcome for all. I visited a food pantry earlier this week. I think it is unique in that it welcomes all sorts of people, including the homeless. It offers bathroom and laundry facilities. It asks no questions and delivers all kinds of goodness. It attracts many gay people, but services all who come. This is the attitude Christ gives us by his example.
The extravagant banquet Christ served on the mountain was a sign of who Jesus really was. Our extravagant welcoming of all sorts of people is a sign of who we are as disciples of Christ, as Christ’s presence in the world, as perfect imitators of Christ. When the five thousand, or only one or a hundred and one, come to us, we should respond by welcoming them and feeding them.
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