Italian version

Alberto Maggi is a theologian, biblical scholar and religious of the Order of the Servants of Mary. He is the Director of the “G. Vannucci” Center for Biblical Studies and curates the dissemination of scholarly research in the biblical field through writings, radio and television broadcasts and conferences in Italy and abroad.

After reading my article The wisdom of multiplication, my dear friend Marco said to me:
“Have you read Alberto Maggi’s writings? Your commentary on the miracle of the loaves and fishes partly coincides with his interpretation.”
“No, actually I have never read anything by Alberto Maggi and I confess to you that I don’t know who he is” I replied.
“He is a famous theologian and biblical scholar, you should read his works or listen to him on Youtube!” advised Marco.

I felt wonder at having “given birth” to an interpretation of an important biblical event similar to that of a prestigious theologian. Driven by curiosity, I searched the Internet for Maggi’s thoughts on the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and found an interview with him at the following link. Inviting you to read the interview, I report in this article what struck me most:

• Regarding the miracles described in the gospels, Father Maggi argues that “the Greek word for miracle is never found in the gospels … the work we are all called to do is to enter into the gospel text and see what the evangelist wants to tell us through images that belong to his culture.” I immediately felt agreement with this statement: not only the gospels of the Christian tradition, but also the sacred writings of other religious traditions (the Sutras of Buddhism, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita of the Hindus) are written in language suited to the culture of the time. Some of the facts, therefore, did not really happen, but are images by which a message is intended to be conveyed
• Regarding the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Father Maggi brilliantly explains the Gospel teaching: the multitude is fed through the sharing of the available food, which is equally shared with everyone present. Moreover, the Gospel text mentions five loaves and two fish: five plus two makes seven, in Jewish tradition seven means everything, so it means they shared all they had

In summary, Maggi tells us, the real miracle lies not in the supernatural intervention of Jesus, but in the change of mentality oriented toward brotherhood and sharing that makes it possible to “miraculously” overcome even the most difficult situations and create a better world.