When everyone shared, everyone had enough.

Reading: Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” Matthew 16:16

Good morning, happy Monday, and many blessings my dear family.

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 14:13-21) Jesus received devastating news. He heard that his beloved cousin, John, had been brutally beheaded. In the wake of this news, Jesus needed time to be alone to absorb this news and begin to grieve for his dear friend.

Jesus got into a boat and withdrew to a deserted place. However, his time for grieving was short-lived. The crowd of people followed him and arrived there before him. I wonder if Jesus was tempted to start rowing to find another place where he could be alone? Matthew writes “Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for the crowd.” Jesus got out of the boat and ministered to the people. He healed all those who yearned to be whole again.

As evening drew near, the disciples realized that many had not brought any food to eat. They were concerned for the people, but they did not know what to do. They went to Jesus and told him to send the people away to the towns where they could buy food. However, Jesus instructed his disciples to feed the crowd. His disciples immediately protested. They said: “We only have two fish and five loaves of bread. This small amount of food will never be enough for this huge crowd.”

Jesus, however, was not disturbed or worried. He told his disciples to bring the fish and the bread to him. Then he instructed the crowd of people to sit down on the grass. I wonder what the disciples were thinking as they gathered the food? Did they think Jesus was crazy or were they anticipating another miracle?

Jesus took the bread and the fish, and he blessed them. He then gave the bread and the fish to his disciples and instructed them to distribute the food to the people. They did so. And as we know, everyone was well fed and there were quite a few baskets of leftovers.

In this gospel we can see how God takes care of his people. We can read the feeding in two ways. On the one hand, we can simply take it as a miraculous event, pointing to the divine origins of Jesus. On the other hand, we can see that once the disciples began to share the little food, they had with those around, it triggered a similar movement among the crowd, many of whom had brought some food with them. When everyone shared, everyone had enough. A picture of the kind of relationship the Church should stand for.

May we remember to thank Him for the gifts, graces, and challenges) that we receive today!  Jesus is with us! Where in my life are there opportunities to “share my food” so others will have enough?

Blessings,

Fr. Luis+