Through Jesus, What Seems Little Becomes More Than Enough

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
(From the issue of  8/7/03)

The scene in today’s Gospel account is very familiar to us: Jesus feeding over five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish. Within this familiar scene is an unnamed and unsung hero! Who is that? The boy with five barley loaves and two fish. In his interaction with Jesus, there is a valuable and practical lesson for us as people of faith, especially people of Eucharistic faith.

That unnamed boy must have heard Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, say to Jesus, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" That unnamed boy must have made a quick decision to give away his bread and fish – however little these were – in order to help Jesus in His desire to feed the hungry people. No doubt, this unnamed boy had known something about this Jesus; perhaps he had heard Jesus speak in a way that deeply touched his heart. Maybe in his earlier religious formation, he had learned about the event in today’s first reading from the Second Book of Kings, how Elisha, another man of God centuries before, had fed one hundred people with only twenty barley loaves at God’s command, with even some food left over. In any case, the bottom line for this unnamed boy was: "If I give to Jesus whatever I have – however small or little, He can use it to help others." What makes this unnamed boy an unsung yet real hero is his faith – a faith that enabled him to trust in the transforming power of Jesus. And his faith and trust were on target, because with his five loaves and two fish, Jesus fed the huge crowd and then, twelve wicker baskets were filled with the left-over fragments. Yes, Jesus took the little the boy had and transformed it so that it was more than enough!

Well, what about us? Are we like that unnamed boy? Do we give to Jesus our gifts and talents – our lives – however ordinary, limited and flawed, and believe that Jesus will transform them, so that He can use us for the welfare of others?

Whatever our particular vocation in life, God wills to use us to care for one another. For example, you who are living out the vocation of Christian marriage, God chose you, husband and wife, to be partners in the journey of marriage, to support and to sustain one another with your individual gifts and talents. Maybe, you would reply: "I don’t think I have many," but the gifts and talents God gave you will be more than enough if, each day, you bring them to Jesus, believing and trusting that He will transform them so that you can be strength and hope and support for each other as husband and wife all life long.

A similar lesson is true for you who are parents and children. God entrusts to you parents the children whom He loves even more than you do. Again, sometimes you may feel so inadequate, thinking your gifts and talents are too few. What you have and, even more, who we are as parents, will be more than enough if, each day, you too bring your very selves to Jesus, believing and trusting that He will transform them for the ultimate welfare of your children. When parents become old and frail, God then entrusts them to their children for support and assistance. Perhaps you feel unprepared and uncertain as to what to do. Again, what you have and, even more, who you are will be more than enough if, daily, you bring to Jesus your desire and your efforts to assist elderly parents in ways that are realistic and in accord with genuine health care.

As parishioners, we are asked to be involved in the mission of the Church as this is concretely lived out within the parish. Even if our gifts and talents seem too few, we must bring them to Jesus, believing and trusting that He can transform them so that we can be collaborators with Jesus and with our pastor in the mission of the Church as it plays out here in Pawcatuck.

Yes, Jesus transformed the five leaves and two fish, so that they were more than enough for the people in need. The greatest transformation which Jesus works is here, in our very midst, within the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. He takes our limited inadequate gifts of bread and wine and, by His divine power, completely changes them into His own Body and Blood. He becomes truly, really and uniquely present among us! He takes our very selves, flawed, limited and sinful, and transforms us into becoming grace-filled members of His Mystical Body, the Church, sent forth to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Yes, transformed by Jesus, we can respond to St. Paul’s advice in today’s second reading: whatever our vocation, we can live in a manner worthy of our call, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve unity and peace within our families and within this parish.

Probably, that unnamed boy arrived back home, shouting, "Hey, Mom, you’ll never guess what happened today! I fed the whole world because Jesus used my five barley loaves and two fish!" And you and I, after every celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Mass, can go back home with new energy, new strength and new hope, because Christ has taken us as we are and transformed us into His life-giving presence – to feed and to sustain all those around us.

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