At a friend’s memorial mass today the Gospel reading was the story of the miracle of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, where Jesus is said to have taken five loaves of bread and two fish and fed over 5000 persons. (Mark 6: 30-46)

This scripture reading reminded me of my visit to Tabgha, an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The site is said to have been discovered by St. Helene, the mother of the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. It was discovered in the 19th Century that the early Christians had carved into the floor of the original building a beautiful mosaic of loaves and fishes.

Although the Gospel story clearly states there were five loaves of bread and two fishes that Jesus multiplied to feed the masses the mosaic has only four loaves of bread and two fishes in it. When our Palestinian guide was asked about this he replied with a story.

The story is that the early followers of the way of Jesus, early Christians, left out the fifth loaf since they felt that they were the fifth loaf. They were carrying it in themselves and their job was to go out with the bread and multiply it by sharing it with others. In today’s homily on this Gospel, my friend, the husband of the deceased, reflected on this story of how we can spread love by sharing what we have, our loaves and fishes, with others in need.

Now this story made sense but did not answer the burning question why there were so many baskets of leftover bread and fish after ever one’s need for food was satisfied? It did not make sense that Jesus would make more than was needed. On the walls surrounding the site there is a story that answers this question about the leftovers of the loaves and fishes. That story, why so much leftovers, is coming tomorrow night,

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