Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk
17th
Sunday of the Year, B – July 29, 2018.
Readings:
2 Kings 4:42-44; Ps 144:10-11,15-18; Ephesians 4:1-6;
Gospel – John 6:1-15.
Theme:
Ubuntu and the Spirit of the
Eucharist!
Introduction
Beloved
in Christ, this Sunday presents us with the practical demands of our faith
namely, caring, sharing
and living for others that
is encapsulated in the African Spirit of Ubuntu
which means, “I Am Because We Are.” The miracle of barley loaves in both the
first reading and gospel draws our minds to the Spirit of Liturgy of life. The
Liturgy of life is the practical dimension of faith which challenges us to demonstrate
the communitarian character of being truly Christian. Suffice it to say that we
would draw lessons both from the sacred text and African communalism. But
first, I would like share with you the popular Ubuntu story.
The Ubuntu Narrative
We
are told that many years ago, a Western Anthropologist came to Africa to study
the social behaviour of an indigenous tribe. He saw a group of children and
proposed a game for them. The children were excited and so obliged him. He kept
a basket filled with fruits under a tree, and told them that whoever reaches
the basket first would win the whole basket and have the fruits all by himself.
After lining them up, he raised his hand and said, “Ready, go!”
Surprisingly,
instead of attempting to beat each other in the race, the children took each
other’s hands and started running together. They all reached the basket at the
same time, sat in a big circle and enjoyed the fruits together full of laugher and
smiles. The anthropologist who could not believe what he saw, asked the kids why
they held each other’s hands and went as a group, when each one could have reached
first and enjoyed the whole fruits alone. In reply, the children shook their
heads and said: “Ubuntu, how can one
of us be happy if all the others are sad?” This story sets the tone for our
reflection, titled: “Ubuntu and the Spirit of Liturgy.” But first, let us peruse the readings.
Background & Summary of the
Readings
Our
first reading (2 Kings
4:42-44)
reveals how a man from Baal Shalishah brought twenty loaves of barley and fresh
ears of grain from the first fruits to Prophet Elisha. It also discloses
Elisha’s miracle of feeding a hundred men with the loaves and ears of grain. It
tells how the people ate and there were leftovers as the Lord had said. It crucial
to note that first fruits were produce from the first crop of the season which
were desirable because they tasted better than old crops. It was a sort of
movement from shortage to abundance. The Israelites offered the first fruits to
God as a sign of acknowledging their dependence on him (Exodus 23:19; 34:26).
Although the first fruits were to be given to the priests (Leviticus 23:10;
Numbers 18:13), the man in the first reading brought it to Elisha, the prophet
of God.
It
is instructive to stress that this was a time of famine which shows that the
gift of food represents a sacrificial offering on the part of the giver and a
life-giving gift to Elisha. According to Donovan (2018), this is not the first
miracle worked by Elisha. The series of miracles in Chapters 4-5 of 2 Kings
worked by Elisha include: The multiplication of the widow’s oil so that she
could sell it and pay her debt (4:1-7), the birth of a son to the Shunammite
woman (4:8-17), the raising of that son from the dead (4:18-37), the purification
of a pot of contaminated stew (4:38-41), the healing of Naaman the leper
(5:1-19) and the miracle of the floating axe head (6:1-7). These miracles
authenticate Elisha as a worthy successor to Elijah. They seem to provide real
solutions to real problems of the people. Elisha’s assurance does not depend on
a careful survey of the food available but on the power of God to provide for
his people.
