Keep On the Grass!
by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ
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.
When was the last time you played on and rolled in
the grass? Do people still? Are there
enough areas for grass to grow in the first place? As our cities become faster-paced urban
concrete jungles, less and less open spaces become devoted to patches of greeneries. But then if we’re lucky enough to come across
a well tended landscape, often a sign sticking out of the ground may say: Keep
off the grass! What a pity to think of the
possibility of future generations completely missing the joys of frolicking in
the grass.
Our gospel today introduces a scene when Jesus not
only asked everyone to recline on the grass but himself sat down with his
disciples in the same place where there was a great deal of grass.
To sit down, as we know provides us a totally
different perspective as against when we are standing up. However, to sit not on a comfortable chair
but on sheer ground and grass, where one runs the risks of soiling one’s
clothes, getting bitten by an insect or catching some harmful germs, offers
some other unique challenges. When some
of us may prefer to be always on the go and choose not to be bogged down by
self-imposed discomforts, Jesus’ instruction may come as a real test: C’mon ...
sit on the grass. Now!
This supposedly “relaxed” state becomes
the backdrop for the goings on in our gospel today. Jesus asks a question to
test his apostle Philip: "Where can we buy enough food for
them to eat?" Jesus’ question seems
to presuppose a prior decision of taking responsibility for feeding everyone: “We
are buying food to feed everyone.” Why
would anyone or any group? Didn’t they come on their own and therefore must
fend for themselves? Not even two hundred days’ wages worth of food by one
worker, says Philip, would be enough for each of them to have a little. “So why must we be responsible for them?”
Philip may have asked. Our own
invitation to recline on the grass with Jesus perhaps is asking us the same
discomforting question: Why must we be
responsible for the needs of others? How
do we honestly gauge our capacities to be men and
women for others?
In our gospel today, the apostle Andrew takes the
credit for noticing the smallest and littlest of gifts. "There is a boy here who has five barley
loaves and two fish,” he exclaimed. The
supply was indeed less compared to the demand of feeding some five thousand
hungry men. And while the role of
multiplying fish and bread was reserved for Jesus, Andrew’s knack for noticing
what could have gone unnoticed was impeccable.
Anyone can get lost in a huge crowd of five thousand men. Andrew not only singles out the boy with
loaves and fish, he appears keen as well on things that mattered the most at a
particular time. We sit on the grass
with Jesus and imbibe not only a certain keenness for the world around us but
as well the eye to notice what matters the most.
Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed
them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. After having eaten their fill, the apostles
were able to gather twelve wicker baskets of left-over food. Isn’t it that God gives us more than what
we’ve originally asked for? Since there
is more for everyone to share, the crowd need not scuttle and fight for a piece
of bread and fish. Interestingly,
everyone seemed to have stayed seated and composed while food was being passed
around. Isn’t it a privilege to
contemplate being the recipients of many gifts from this God of abundance -- He
who gives lovingly without limit and restriction. Indeed, for us who had received much, more is
expected. We recline on the grass with
the Lord and from his example learn how giving more of ourselves may mean
exceeding the usual expectations.
This week, as the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
celebrates the anniversary of its founder St. Ignatius of Loyola, we heed
Jesus’ call for everyone to recline on the grass and renew our commitment to be
responsible for one another, to deepen our knowledge of the world around us and
to give more of ourselves as we had received much from the God of
abundance.
