17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel John 6:1-15
“Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself”. This is very important passage in the Gospel. This proves that the way of the cross is the will of God. Jesus could have performed miracles and gained the power. Then salvation will be result of power. But salvation is a result of love. The love of God towards the humanity. The love of God which incarnates in our reality of hunger and multiplies the bread to be fed. Jesus escaped back to the hills by himself because he did not want to become the king by his miracle. He wants to be the King on the cross by shedding His last drop of blood for the humanity. This is also a situation we face in our life. We are faced with finding solution with power or the cross. The power is inflicting pain on others. The cross is accepting the pain for oneself for others. The power is controlling others. The Cross is being at the service of others. Let’s reflect: What do I prefer, power to solve the problem or the cross to transform the problem into an opportunity to love more?
Don Giorgio