By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.
Five thousand hungry people,
what are we to do?
Where does he expect us to get enough food for such a crowd?
As we look around the world today,
there are so many people in need,
so many that a crowd of five thousand seems small.
So, what are we to do?
Where can we get what we would need to care for only a few of them?
Both Elisha and Jesus show us the way.
Use whatever you have and it will be enough,
as long as you trust in God.
Elisha had twenty loaves for hundred people.
Jesus had five loaves for five thousand.
But they both believed in the power of God.
They both trusted that God would feed the crowd,
that whatever they placed in God’s hands would be enough.
Too often, I don’t know what to do.
I don’t have a plan.
I don’t believe that what I do can make a difference.
Too often, I forget who’s got my back.
I forget that God can take what little I have
and use it in ways I cannot imagine.
I forget that God has enough,
even when it seems that I don’t.
The miracle in both the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Gospel today
is not just that so many were fed with such a meager amount,
but that the one who shared the meager amount had faith
in the one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
I don’t expect that either you or I can work miracles,
but I know the One who can,
and so do you.
And we don’t need to have great faith,
for elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus tells us,
that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed
and that will be enough to move mountains.
So, today, when we look out at all the needs in our world,
we need not wonder what can be done.
We need only to remember the One who can do all things
as long as we have faith the size of a mustard seed.
We need only place our needs and the needs of all the world
into the hands of God
and God will surely have enough!
To view the full scripture reading, click here.
Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S., is the director of advanced formation for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He also directs Precious Blood Parish Missions (pbparishmissions.org).