NOTES for Act 13:13-24
Today's Gospel passage can serve as a beautiful illustration of what the Church is, what a community of believers in Christ is. At its center is its Head - Christ Himself. Beside Him the apostles labor - the foundation of the future hierarchy of the Church. They help people by easing and ordering the transmission of God's gift to everyone in need. And nowhere is it said that they also eat; they must also have taken part in this meal, but first of all they are here for service - to help both Christ and the people. And there are thousands of people around Him, all of them hungry in one way or another, all of them needing something from Him.
Of course, Christ can satisfy their hunger "out of nothing." He, God who created heaven and earth, has absolutely no need of our loaves and fish, for He has more of them than we do. And yet He uses them in order to give us what we so deeply desire. He takes what each of us has, and thanks to Him it turns out that our common wealth is far greater than simply everything taken together. God is always ready to work a miracle for us, but we are not always ready to receive it. And He waits for our first step from us - even if it is small, still participation in the work of our salvation: consent.