Day 27
Where to Start?
To all who are listening to my voice I wish to say that the age of the missions is not over; Christ still needs generous men and women to become heralds of the Good News to the ends of the earth. Do not be afraid to follow him. Share freely with others the faith you have received! No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.
— St. John Paul II, Homily in Gambia, February 23, 1992; Redemptoris Missio 3
We all remember the Gospel passages where Jesus multiplies the loaves. On one occasion he fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two dried fish (see Matthew 14:13–21). On another occasion he fed more than four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish (see Matthew 15:32–39).
Does God Ask the Impossible?
In both cases it seemed to Christ’s apostles that he was asking them something impossible. He longed to feed the hungry crowds who were following him:
“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” (Matthew 15:32)
But the little group of chosen apostles was more practical. “The disciples said to him, ‘Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?’” (Matthew 15:33).
On the first occasion of this miracle, the apostles actually advised Jesus to simply send the crowds away to fend for themselves. It’s an understandable reaction. But Jesus turned and looked them in the eye and said: “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves” (Matthew 14:16). He was not stupid. He knew the scanty resources at their disposal. “But they said to him, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have here’” (Matthew 14:17). They really did have very little. Their merely natural possibilities to achieve what Jesus was asking them to do were ridiculously inadequate.
Feeling Overwhelmed
Most of us can identify with that, if we are honest. The moral demands of our faith overwhelm us — it seems impossible to live the life of patience, purity, generosity, and courage we know we are called to live. The apostolic demands of being a Christian missionary weigh us down; we find ourselves barely able to fulfill the basic duties of everyday life, let alone branch out into creative ways to evangelize the world — even if we could think of some.
Truly, we find ourselves looking at Jesus with the same pained — and maybe even frustrated or resentful — expression of the disciples in the Gospel: “Five loaves and two fish are all that we have here.” Lord, I just don’t have the strength, the time, the knowledge to do this. If I give away the little I have, I don’t think I will be able to survive. I really need those few loaves and fish. I can’t help you — I can barely help myself . . .
Jesus Knows Our Limitations
Jesus understands that. In fact, he knows our limitations better than we know them ourselves. When St. John told his version of the multiplication of the loaves, he points this out explicitly, even with a bit of humor.
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. (John 6:5–6)
Jesus knows our limitations. He knows that by our own power the Christian life he invites us to live is a mere pipedream. But at the same time, he doesn’t share those limitations. He is God. His grace can radically transform and multiply the slightest and most paltry effort to build his kingdom, to love our neighbors, just as his grace transformed the few loaves and fish into an abundant feast. He just needs us to do one thing, one little thing, to make that happen. “Then he said, ‘Bring them here to me’” (Matthew 14:18).
Jesus Works Within Our Limitations
When the apostles placed their meager resources into the Lord’s hands, they didn’t know what would happen. All they knew was that Jesus could be trusted. Jesus would take care of it. Jesus would find a way to make it work out. Jesus would not waste even a crumb of whatever they put into his hands and offered to him for the advance of his kingdom. Not even a crumb. In fact, after the miracle was over and Jesus had fed thousands with the little his disciples had given him, he still wasn’t finished.
[H]e 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. (John 6:12–13)
This is how it works with the Lord. The gifts he gives us, the gifts of grace and the Holy Spirit, miraculously multiply our slightest effort to live as Christ asks us to live. In order to fulfill our Christian mission in the world, we don’t have to have a perfect master plan or a fail-safe formula. All we have to do is offer what we have and let Jesus multiply it. We just have to give to others what Jesus has given to us — a few loaves of faith and a couple words of hope — and he will do the rest. That’s the way to start. That’s how the Lord wants us to start: leaning not on our natural smarts and strengths, but stepping out of our comfort zone and leaning on him.
From Plain Bread to Holy Host
This whole dynamism is beautifully present every time we go to Mass. We offer to God the humble gifts of bread and wine — the most normal, earthly products of nature and human labor. We place them on the altar, in all their plainness, simplicity, and fragility. And what happens? They become hosts of Christ’s own precious Body and Blood. God “gracifies” them, transforming them into something that no human effort, however magnificent, could ever accomplish: the Eucharistic presence of the Lord himself.
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
What idea in this reflection struck you most and why?
When have you experienced the power of God’s grace transforming your limited efforts into a true advance for his kingdom? Remember, savor, and thank him for those experiences.
What are the loaves and fish available to you personally, and how is God asking you to put them at the service of his kingdom?
Why do you think God sometimes asks us to do more than we are naturally capable of? A famous story about St. Francis of Assisi illustrates this point. St. Francis was the founder of the Franciscan Order, which has been one of the Church’s most fruitful spiritual and missionary powerhouses ever since its foundation in the high Middle Ages. But Francis didn’t start off with that in mind. He just wanted to serve the Lord. One day early on in his faith journey, he was praying in front of a crucifix in the church of San Damiano, just outside the walls of Assisi, a small city in the Italian region of Umbria. As he prayed, our Lord appeared to him, and the crucifix spoke to him, saying “Francis, rebuild my church.” The Lord was calling him to his great work of founding the Franciscan Order, an army of Christians dedicated to reform and renewal. But Francis didn’t understand that yet. It so happened that the little church of San Damiano, where he was praying, was in a state of disrepair. So Francis obeyed our Lord by doing what he could: He started to replace the stones and bricks that had fallen off the church’s walls — he started to repair the little church building of San Damiano. That little gesture of loving and generous obedience was transformed into a religious movement that has pumped new spiritual vitality into the Church and the world ever since.
Today, what is the Lord asking you to do, and how will you respond?
- I will review my schedule and commitments and determine where I can make more time to engage in some kind of apostolic activity.
- I will review my budget and see where I can cut down on expenditures in order to give material support to some work of charity and evangelization.
- I will say “yes” to the invitation that I have heard God speaking in my heart for a while, but which I have as yet been too afraid to accept.
- (Write your own resolution) I will
Closing Prayer
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.
— Roman Missal, Offertory Prayers (and private prayer of the priest) at the start of the Liturgy of the Eucharist
