Like the little boy

Listening to the Spirit

Dearest Lord,
Teach me to be generous
Teach me to serve you as I should
To give and not to count the cost
To fight and not to heed the wounds
To toil and not to seek for rest
To labor and not to seek reward
Serve that of knowing that I do your most Holy will.

Amen.

Listening to the Word

John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Reflection

To become an instrument of God’s love and mercy is the invitation of the Gospel on this 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is not enough to feed the hungry stomach of our brethren but to be a channel of God’s concern for both physical and spiritual needs. Jesus asked the disciples and eventually the Church to answer these needs of our people. I remember a Muslim friend when I was in Sierra Leone, West Africa, who vividly compared the Catholic Church to a water pipe. According to him, God is like a water tank and we, his people, are the faucets; and the Catholic Church for a Muslim is a pipe that brings the water from the tank to the faucet.

Despite our weaknesses and limitations, God feeds us with five loaves and two fish. Notwithstanding our sinfulness and wickedness, we are called to feed our needy brothers and sisters with our own five loaves and two fish. This gospel is a missionary one because we are tasked by Jesus to do the same as the boy who offered his all. I remember my experience during the community pantry. I don’t know personally some donors but they brought food for the poor people of Sitio Militar. They were missionaries sent by God to feed and provide food packs for 500 to 600 people. There were moments that I wanted to stop the community pantry because contributions were decreasing but God performed miracles. He touched the heart of the people to share. The miracle is not on the number of people who received it but on the number of people who started sharing and becoming selfless.

The real miracle happens when a person is able to jump from selfishness to selflessness like the boy. He able to give his five loaves and two fish, how about you? Are you willing to undergo the process of transformation? Our love, concern, and compassion for our brothers and sisters in need should be concrete not in theories. Somebody hungry, give a food. Somebody who is thirsty, give a drink. Somebody is sick, give a medicine. Somebody is confused, listen and pray. Imitating the little boy, do things concretely.