Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 7/26/09 by Dawn

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/072609.shtml

When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
John 6:12

This has got to be one of the best known Gospel stories. Who doesn't love the five loaves and two fish story? A miracle. For me, though, this time the one part that has really struck me is Jesus' request that the disciples pick up all that was left "so that nothing will be wasted".

I've been thinking a lot lately about the earth and all that is happening. The US bishops have created something called The Catholic Climate Covenant whose purpose is to help people to understand our moral obligation to care for both Creation and the poor, and that the two are intimately linked. That's why this part of today's Reading really stuck out for me. It's what sustainable living is all about - having adequate quality of life for today, without compromising future generations. Jesus is the Son of God - rationally, there's no need for the left-overs to be picked up, He can just make more later. But that's not what He does. He is providing us an example of what a good steward is.

In religious circles, when people talk about stewardship it's usually about money, but money is not what I'm referring to today. In the Creation story from Genesis, God creates the world and all that is in it and then sets man to be it's steward. We are responsible to God for the care of Creation. We need to remember that Creation is not our possession to do with what we'd like to. Being a good steward means not taking the easy way out which results in consuming resources at an alarming rate, but to instead pursue simpler lifestyles for ourselves while at the same time advocating for the poor who have no voice and are the people who most suffer from our over consumption.

In the Hebrew Scriptures God created the entire material world and called it very good. In today's Gospel we see Jesus being a good steward. In my opinion, the conservation went far beyond the bread and fish - it extends to minerals, fossil fuels, water, and even to human beings. How often is it that we see someone and think "I don't want to waste my time on him/her." If God has created all things, who are we to think someone or something is disposable and have no value. All things exist to give glory to God.

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