When I read this gospel, I got perplexed. Here, you could see the disciples urging Jesus to send the people away so they can buy food for themselves. Jesus replied, "You yourselves give them something to eat." Then the disciples answered in what I can imagine as some sort of a protest..." If we are to give them food, we must go and buy two hundred silver coins' worth of bread." This was a way of saying, 'Lord, it is not within our budget.' I can recall so many times answering that way when urged or inspired by God to do something. But what is His answer to this?
"You have some loaves: how many? Go and see." Only then did the disciples found that they have five loaves and two fishes.
Then what did Jesus do... he asked for the five loaves and two fishes. He took these, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing broke the loaves and handed them for distribution. The same was done with the fishes. It fed five thousand men and gave a leftover of twelve baskets.
From what little resources the disciples had, Jesus blessed and made plenty. The essence of His miracle is not simply confined to the mere fact that He provided because He knows fully well that He can do that. But what He wants to stress is that we have to participate in the miracle; we have a role to play and He blesses what meager resources we have to make it more than enough. The abundance starts from within us, not externally. It is already inherent in us. What do I have? That is what God is asking. Whatever little I have is worth sharing. But first I need to discover what I have: my talents, my treasures, my skills, the works of my hands... Self-knowledge is essential to a life of abundance. We only need to offer what little we have to Him and He can bless it and multiply it. That is how He asks us to deal with the material world. If I have nothing to offer, He has nothing to bless and multiply.
We seek for an abundant life and He is pointing out that the answer is within us. How wrongly we pray. We ask that He give us the two hundred silver coins so we can buy the bread when we should actually ask ourselves, 'what do I have?' Because with our five loaves and two fishes, He can bless and multiply not only to provide for a "just enough" life but to a "more than enough" life for all people. What we have inside us will not only make our own life rich and wealthy when we start sharing it but it will also enrich other people's lives. Jesus is not referring to spiritual enrichment... He is actually referring to material enrichment, tangible and real.
"You have some loaves: how many? Go and see." Only then did the disciples found that they have five loaves and two fishes.
Then what did Jesus do... he asked for the five loaves and two fishes. He took these, raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing broke the loaves and handed them for distribution. The same was done with the fishes. It fed five thousand men and gave a leftover of twelve baskets.
From what little resources the disciples had, Jesus blessed and made plenty. The essence of His miracle is not simply confined to the mere fact that He provided because He knows fully well that He can do that. But what He wants to stress is that we have to participate in the miracle; we have a role to play and He blesses what meager resources we have to make it more than enough. The abundance starts from within us, not externally. It is already inherent in us. What do I have? That is what God is asking. Whatever little I have is worth sharing. But first I need to discover what I have: my talents, my treasures, my skills, the works of my hands... Self-knowledge is essential to a life of abundance. We only need to offer what little we have to Him and He can bless it and multiply it. That is how He asks us to deal with the material world. If I have nothing to offer, He has nothing to bless and multiply.
We seek for an abundant life and He is pointing out that the answer is within us. How wrongly we pray. We ask that He give us the two hundred silver coins so we can buy the bread when we should actually ask ourselves, 'what do I have?' Because with our five loaves and two fishes, He can bless and multiply not only to provide for a "just enough" life but to a "more than enough" life for all people. What we have inside us will not only make our own life rich and wealthy when we start sharing it but it will also enrich other people's lives. Jesus is not referring to spiritual enrichment... He is actually referring to material enrichment, tangible and real.
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1 comment:
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