(2Kgs.4:42-44; Ps.145:10-11,15-18; Eph.4:1-6; Jn.6:1-15) "They shall eat and there shall be some left over." O Lord, "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." You are He who is "just in all His ways and holy in all His works," and eating the food you offer, we become holy as well. Brothers and sisters, if we "live in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of spirit through the bond of peace," what shall not be ours? Will the cup upon our table not overflow? For then we shall be holy as He is holy. And what does it mean to be holy but to be perfect, to be complete? Did not those reclining on the grass eat as much bread "and also as much fish as they wanted"? Is it not true that they "had their fill"? And will those who come to the table of the Lord today, to partake of the sacrifice offered on His altar, be found wanting? No, certainly not. For as far as Jesus' miracle of feeding the five thousand with five loaves surpasses Elisha's feeding the hundred with twenty loaves, thus far and more does Jesus' feeding our bodies and souls with His Bread and Wine surpass the miracle we hear of today in our gospel. For now billions eat. Now all who come are fed. Without limit souls are satisfied, and satisfied unto heaven. Two notes I would make regarding our readings today. The first is that when Jesus performed this miracle of feeding the five thousand, "the Jewish feast of the Passover was near." The Evangelist does not state this in vain: it is on the feast of the Passover Jesus shall offer Himself as the new Lamb of whose flesh all must partake – it is this day He shall institute the Eucharist. And note, too, Elisha's immediate words upon being offered the twenty barley loaves as a gift: "Give it to the people to eat." What is given him he offers to all, and so prefigures our Lord's generous sacrifice of Himself – and so exemplifies the attitude we all must have to whatever the Lord provides. For then it is we show faith in our God's providential hand; and it is then we participate in the abundant outpouring of His gifts upon all who await His blessing. "One body and one Spirit" are we all, and to this oneness there is no limit. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "The Whole Whale" (first third) from The Whole Whale, eighth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, it is by your hand we are fed – let us look not upon the things of this earth. YHWH, in our hunger our eyes look hopefully to you, and you do not disappoint our longing; you feed us by the hand of your only Son – upon His Body we feast. For He gives Himself to us that we might never hunger again, for to the abundance of this food there is no end. All who desire shall eat, and there shall be some left over. We need not fear that the food you provide shall run short and we be left alone in a desert place. No, to all who call upon you in truth you are very near, O LORD, very ready to answer our pleas. How much closer could you be to us than in the flesh and blood of your only Son? What more could you give us to eat than His presence? We are one in you, O LORD, one in body and one in spirit through your Son; we are all your children, dear God and Father, and in the love of Jesus that oneness is fulfilled. And so we praise your surpassing glory.