A Little Boy’s Offer

 Before multiplying the bread for 5,000 men, Jesus asked 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’" (John 6:5-7). Philip realizes Jesus is making big plans and that he, Philip, appears to have a certain role to play in Jesus’ plan. But Philip realizes there is no way that plan can work and no way he can help. “Jesus, my Lord, they are too many, and we have no money. All I can give you is my acknowledgment that this is impossible and I can do nothing for you.” I think this is what Jesus wanted: that Philip realized that feeding those people with the bread of Life was impossible... for human beings.

This is an important point. God can work great things through us when we realize that, by ourselves, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). Only a humble human being can be the instrument of God’s great works. Philip did feed thousands, in the end, with the bread he took from Jesus. Because what is impossible for men, is not impossible with God (cf. Luke 1:37-38, 48-49).

“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?’" (John 6:8-9). A little person with little food is not the answer for a big problem. However, Andrew offered Jesus what he had, what he had found. Or, better said, the little boy himself had probably offered his food to Andrew, because he did not consider himself worthy of going directly to Jesus. When Jesus sees the humble gift, when Jesus sees that they are giving with humility all that they have, then everything is ready for the miracle: "Have the people recline" (John 6:10). Reclining, at that time, was like sitting at the table, so we could translate Jesus’ words as “Dinner is ready! Everybody at table!”

Jesus multiplies the bread, He transforms the little into much with His divine power. Nothing is little when you give it all to Jesus. Jesus saw in each loaf from that little boy food for a thousand. You may think you can do nothing because you have very little: go and give it to Jesus. Nothing is little for Him, nothing is impossible with God.

So many people are hungry for God, for truth, for happiness... Jesus is worried about them, as He was then. Where is that boy today...? Do you have some bread you can share?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Church Built Upon Rock

(On Matthew 16:16-18) Jesus does not say to Simon you are the rock (the petra , rock in Greek). He says to him “you are Peter ( Petros ) and upon this petra I will build my Church” ( Matthew 16:18). St. Augustine explains that the name Peter comes from petra as the name Christian comes from Christ. [1] We are Christians because we participate in the life, grace, truth, doctrine, body and blood of Jesus Christ. Simon is Peter because he participates in the stability and firmness of the petra , the rock which is Jesus Himself. There is something in Peter which is as stable and firm as a rock. [2] Peter is not the rock: he will still break a few times, and Jesus knows it. Peter will die one day, and Jesus knows it. But Peter’s confession will never break, it will never pass away, it will never be moved to the left or to the right. Peter’s confession will never die: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” ( Matthew 16:16). How can the confession of a man be so stable? Have no...
Read more

To Ceasar What Belongs to Ceasar

Is God’s power opposed to political power? What is the relationship between these powers? Today’s readings shed some light on this mystery. God’s power is superior to any human power. Cyrus’s power comes from God (cf. Isaiah 45:1, 4-6) as does every authority on earth. Nobody could obtain human power without God’s allowing it. Some people use God’s given power in the wrong way, but God does not punish all of them in this life. God’s power is not opposed to the right use of human power. Jesus does not oppose Ceasar regarding taxes (cf. Matthew 22:15-21). Ceasar has a certain right over the material goods of his subjects. God, however, has an absolute right to our faith and love. If Ceasar ever asked us something against our faith and our love, we would not give it to him, because Ceasar is not more than God. Ceasar could send us to jail until death, but God can punish us and Ceasar after death and forever. In those cases, we must obey God rather than human beings. Even in cas...
Read more

God’s Glory and the World’s Approval

“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” What is this glory? We are not meant to obtain from this world a glory we do not yet have. The world cannot give us what we want. We are meant to glorify God with the glory he has already given us, so that we may then receive further glory, not from the world, but from Him. We go from the glory we have to the glory we do not yet have, as St. Paul says, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” ( 1 Corinthians 3:18). Modern society, with its own standards and values, exercises a certain pressure on Christians. It is peer pressure sometimes, it is also felt like an attraction other times, or like the threat of failure if we do not comply. The world offers us its own “salvation” from the evils of life; the world offers its own “redemption” from our sense of failure and worthlessness; the world offers its own...
Read more