ISAIAH 55: 1-3
PSALM 144: 8-9, 15-18
ROMANS 8: 35, 37-39
MATTHEW 14: 13-21
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There is so much suffering in the world from conflict and famine. What is our response to this? Is it just a sense of pity for the suffering? Is it to leave it to governments to solve the problem? Or are we wanting to reach out to them?
Often people may say, “But what can we do? We don’t have enough to give to them all anyway.” In this time of rising cost, people may also feel that they don’t have enough for their families anyway.
Sometimes when we look at how Jesus teaches his disciples and us about Christian discipleship, life itself is a great lesson, not found in books. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes his disciples to a place where they can be by themselves. He probably wants to instruct them in private as he often did. But the people follow him. And here the situation presents a lesson for the disciples.
The disciples tell Jesus to send the people away so that they can feed themselves. Jesus instead tells them to feed the people. But the disciples tell Jesus that they have too little.
Jesus takes the little that they have, blesses it and goes on to feed thousands.
It is easy to blame others for the suffering or to lay the responsibility on others, like governments to do something about it. But Jesus calls on each of us, like he did the disciples to do something ourselves.
When we say that we have so little, let us remember that we are blessed with much more than those who have less. What we take as important in having in life, those who are starving cannot even imagine. They do not even have the basics of life.
Sometimes the challenge is that we can become so consumed by a consumer mentality, that what is not important becomes necessary.
The more we want, the less we are willing to give in charity.
Jesus calls each of us to response not just for the sake of the suffering but also for our own good. It is in our generosity, we create a compassionate and just society.
It is in giving that we grow in faith, hope and love.
It is not about giving everything but giving out of love. As Jesus is with the hungry crowd, Jesus is found today most, in the poor and suffering. It is there that a prayer that is open to God will lead us to, for it is there that God is most visible as Jesus was 2000 years ago, for it is there that we meet the cross of salvation.