Today's Gospel is John's telling of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, with a complementary first reading concerning a similar (if less powerful) miracle with the prophet Elisha. While they certainly set up Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, they are also powerful examples of the importance of faith. In both cases, the people around the miracle worker are concerned that there is not enough to go around. They express immediate defeatism in the face of such a challenge. Jesus and Elisha instead say that what is there will be enough--and with God's grace, it is.
I feel that this is a message for more in our lives than food. How often do we wonder what difference we can make in the world? So often, the challenges in our lives seem insurmountable--certainly more than we alone can handle ... and honestly, that's a true assessment. However, with God, nothing is impossible.
When we worry whether what we do can make a difference or not, we need to remember the lesson from today's readings. God can make the little that we have (resources, talent, influence, energy, etc.) go a long way. What we have on our own might not be enough, but with God, it becomes enough to not only handle the task at hand, but to have more left over in the end.
I feel that this is a message for more in our lives than food. How often do we wonder what difference we can make in the world? So often, the challenges in our lives seem insurmountable--certainly more than we alone can handle ... and honestly, that's a true assessment. However, with God, nothing is impossible.
When we worry whether what we do can make a difference or not, we need to remember the lesson from today's readings. God can make the little that we have (resources, talent, influence, energy, etc.) go a long way. What we have on our own might not be enough, but with God, it becomes enough to not only handle the task at hand, but to have more left over in the end.
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