Perhaps
we are sometimes reluctant to help, because we think we have nothing to give. In the
Gospel the disciples approach Jesus and ask him to send the crowds away so that
they could get something to eat. Jesus says to them, “There is no need for them
to go away; give them some food yourselves.” It’s interesting that Jesus did
not feed the crowd himself but gave that over to his disciples. Probably
looking puzzled they answer, “But we have only five loaves and two fish.” What
good is that? They felt that they had nothing to give but in fact they did. The
little they had was multiplied to feed more than five thousand people. The
possibility that so little could feed so many was beyond their comprehension.
But they do what Jesus asks and are amazed.
The
lesson for us is not how much we have, but how generous we are with the gifts
that God has given us. Even when we think we have little or nothing to offer, we
have to remember that many can still be fed by our compassion and our presence.
Perhaps that is what they hunger for the most. All of us are needy people in one
way or another. But our
deepest needs can only be filled by Jesus himself.
Photograph by Brother Brian. Excerpts from Father Emmanuel's Homily for the 18th Sunday of the Year.
