John 6:1-15 | Wilhelm Gause | Twelve Hampers with Scraps were left

John 6:1-15   Twelve Hampers with Scraps were left

Feeding the Poor, Painted by Wilhelm Gause (1853-1916), Oil on board, Painted in 1911 © Dorotheum, Vienna Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover. Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ 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.   READ MORE     Reflection on the Painting To place it in its context, the time that Jesus first gave food to the 5000 was when the feast of Passover was near… when it was time for the lamb to be slain to remind the people that God rescued them out of Egypt… Two years after this feeding of 5000, the Passover lamb that was to be slain, was Jesus himself… Holy Week is still fresh in our memories… Let us look at the leftovers in today’s Gospel. When Jesus feeds the 5000, there are leftovers, 12 hampers full. Everybody managed to eat plentiful and yet there is food left over. It shows how abundantly Jesus provides. He never runs out of love, never runs out of mercy, never runs out of care, never runs out of grace, never runs out of goodness to give to us… plentiful and abundantly! Staying in His presence will continue to feed us with everything we need. There will always leftovers, which we then can share with other people… At the beginning of the 20th century, when our painting was executed, more than 25% of the population in Europe were living in poverty. At least 15% were living at subsistence level. They had just enough money for food, rent, fuel, and clothes. They could not afford 'luxuries' such as newspapers or public transport. About 10% were living in below subsistence levels and could not afford an adequate diet… Our painting, challenging to look at in many ways, is colourless, all in greyish brown tonalities. So many people queuing for food… If you can’t feed a hundred people,  Then just feed one - Mother Theresa by Patrick van der Vorst