The first reading narrates the multiplication of loaves by the prophet Elisha. The second recounts Paul’s exhortation to live in unity…
1 KINGS 4:42-44
A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God the firstfruits—twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord: They shall eat and have some left.” So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.
Within this book, which recounts the stories of the kings of Israel, we find two “prophetic cycles,” that of Elijah and that of Elisha. They were undoubtedly real figures who lived around 850 B.C. and preached fidelity to Yahweh to the people during a time of widespread apostasy. However, the figures have been magnified and distorted by legend, so that they seem more like symbols than historical characters.
The cycle of Elisha, in addition, contains more miracle stories than any other in the Old Testament. The one we read today narrates an “event” similar to that of the Gospel, and for this reason it is read today.
EPHESIANS 4:1-13
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
The initial expressions suggest that Paul writes this letter from prison, which would place it in Rome, around the year 60. It could also be a literary device of the true author. This part of the letter is an exhortation to Christian life, containing famous phrases that are widely used by the Church.
José Enrique Galarreta