A missionary bishop was called to confirm a group of children with severe mental and physical handicaps.\u00a0 Not one of all the children could do even the most rudimentary academic work.\u00a0 The chaplain at the home where the children resided warned the bishop, \u201cYou can speak no longer than two minutes.\u00a0 Anything longer is outside of the children\u2019s capacities.\u00a0 You should have one point and speak in simple, concrete language.\u201d\u00a0 The bishop was nervous about addressing the children, but this was the homily he gave them:\u00a0 \u201cMy dear children, your mothers and your fathers, your brothers and your sisters love you deeply.\u00a0 This is why they keep gently stroking your head and your hair and your cheeks.\u00a0 This is also what happens in confirmation.\u00a0 God strokes you, because God loves you so much.\u00a0 In the next few minutes I will come and anoint you on the head with oil in the sign of the cross.\u00a0 That is God stroking you and loving you.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few minutes later the bishop approached a young boy with severe cerebral palsy. As he made the sign of the cross on the boy\u2019s head, the young man grimaced and then, with great difficulty, said the work \u201cStroke.\u201d\u00a0 He had understood the homily.\u00a0 Moreover, he appreciated the central truth of the gospel, that our God is a God who strokes us out of love\u2014just as God stroked Israel and made Israel God\u2019s very own, just as the father stroked the prodigal son, just as Jesus stroked the little children, the lepers, the poor, the hungry, the sorrowing, the persecuted. At the center of the gospel stands a God who strokes us out of love.\u00a0 And for all that we cannot understand about God, and for all that we cannot explain about life, our faith rests on this central truth of God\u2019s love for us.<\/p>\n
The apostle Paul in today\u2019s second reading gives a powerful expression of this foundational tenet of Christianity.\u00a0 Paul says, \u201cNothing can separate us from the love of God, not hardship or distress or persecution, not famine or poverty or violence, not the present or the future, not life or death.\u00a0 In all of these things we are more than conquerors, because of God who has loved us.\u201d\u00a0 In this forceful expression of the gospel Paul makes clear what faith is and what it is not.\u00a0 Believing in Jesus is not a bargain. It is a relationship.<\/p>\n
Many people who want to market Christianity will try to make it into a bargain.\u00a0 \u201cIf you do this, God will do that.\u00a0 If you believe and pray, you will be wealthy or healthy. If you believe in Jesus you will not have to experience sickness or worry or pain.\u201d\u00a0 But in Paul\u2019s expression there is no sign of such bargaining.\u00a0 In fact, Paul admits painfully that we as believers in Christ undergo the same trials and tribulations as everyone else in the world.\u00a0 Believing in Christ does not insure us that we can avoid cancer, or that our marriage will last, or that we will be able to protect the people we love.\u00a0 Believing in Christ is not a guarantee to a charmed and easy life.\u00a0 What faith is, is the acceptance of a relationship.\u00a0 What faith is, is believing in a God who caresses us with blessings and who gently strokes us in our pain.\u00a0 Believing in Christ is admitting that there is a God who will never stop loving us.<\/p>\n
Now if we could make our faith a bargain, we could convert the world.\u00a0 We could fill up all the churches.\u00a0 Because who would not want to avoid the trials and tribulations of living?\u00a0 But believing in Christ does not remove us or protect us from the pains and struggles of life.\u00a0 What faith does is give us a relationship in which we can cope with all of our pains and struggles.<\/p>\n
The gospel guarantees us of one thing and one thing alone: God will not stop loving us.\u00a0 Nothing can separate from the love of God in Christ.\u00a0 Not sickness, not aging, not family upheaval, not even death.\u00a0 To have a relationship with an ever-loving God, as the center of our faith is not a bargain that will impress everyone.\u00a0 But for those of us who believe in Christ\u2019s death and resurrection, for those of us who recognize the loving strokes of our God, this relationship is the gospel; this relationship is life; this relationship is everything.<\/p>\n
There was a saying that became popular in the U.S. Army during the Second World War: What is difficult, we will do immediately. What is impossible will take a little bit more time.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to do the impossible. They are in a deserted place and, without resources or means, he asks them to feed a crowd of over 5,000 people. All they have is five loaves and two fish. This simply can\u2019t be done. And yet, by the end of the story, all have eaten and are satisfied. Indeed, 12 baskets of fragments are left over.\u00a0So how are we to understand this story of Jesus? Why does Jesus ask his disciples to do the impossible? And is he in some way asking us to do the same?<\/p>\n
A popular Christian storyteller by the name of Bob Benson relates an incident from his own life that can help us answer this question. Bob was planning to go to his parish\u2019s summer picnic but he was running late. By the time he was ready to go, he realized he didn\u2019t have any food to bring. He looked in his refrigerator and all he could find was two slices of bread, one dried slice of baloney, and a little mustard in the bottom of the jar. It would have to do.\u00a0He made himself a pathetic baloney sandwich, put it in a brown bag, and went to the picnic. He found a place in the pavilion next to a family that had brought a feast: fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, sliced tomatoes, olives, and four homemade chocolate pies. Bob opened his bag and began to eat his sandwich. One of the members of the family next to him saw this and came over and said: \u201cBob, I have a suggestion. Why don\u2019t we put our food together? We have more than enough chicken, potato salad, and baked beans. Moreover, everybody in our family loves baloney sandwiches.\u201d So that\u2019s what they did. Bob ate like a king, although he came like a pauper.<\/p>\n
Now, in effect, this same thing is what happens in today\u2019s Gospel. Jesus tells his disciples: “Bring me what you have, the fives loaves and the two fish\u2014whatever. Let\u2019s put that together with what I have and then see what happens.” Jesus extends this same invitation to us. When we have to face something that seems to be impossible in our life, he invites us to join our resources. At times we have to face a new challenge in our work, at home, at our job, at school. We look at the challenge and say: \u201cI don\u2019t think that I have the wisdom or the skill to pull this off. Doing this seems impossible.\u201d Jesus says: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take your skill and put it together with mine, and let\u2019s see if we can do this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
When there is somebody we love who is in trouble because of sickness, a dysfunctional relationship, or an addiction to alcohol or drugs, we want with all our hearts to make that situation better for them. But we know it\u2019s a decision they need to make for themselves. We cannot make it for them. Jesus says to us: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you bring me your care and your love and we\u2019ll put it together with my care and love. Then together let\u2019s see if we can make a difference\u201d.<\/p>\n
When we lose someone that we love because of death, misunderstanding, or divorce, when we have to leave a situation that is comfortable and familiar and face something that is unknown to us, we can look at those situations and say: \u201cI don\u2019t have the strength to do this.\u201d Jesus says to us: \u201cBring me the strength that you have and let\u2019s put it together with my strength. Then together let\u2019s face the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the invitation that Jesus gives us is quite specific. He doesn\u2019t say to us: \u201cSit back and let me do everything.\u201d He asks us to contribute what we have, no matter how small it might seem. He wants us to bring to him the little strength, wisdom, or hope that we have and put it together with his.<\/p>\n
Of course, there is no guarantee that every time we try we will succeed and that all of our troubles will evaporate. But when you have to face the impossible, it is better not to face it alone. If something is difficult, do it immediately. But if something is impossible, it is better to join your forces with the Lord.<\/p>\n
An important aspect of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes is its connection to the events of Jesus\u2019 life. Matthew provides that connection for us at the beginning of today\u2019s gospel. He says, \u201cWhen Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Jesus\u2019 relationship to John the Baptist was a deep one. John was an inspiration and a model for Jesus\u2019 own ministry. So when Jesus heard of the violent murder of John by King Herod, it was a deep blow. Jesus decided to withdraw to a deserted place to grieve his loss. This reaction by Jesus shows his true humanity, but it also stands for all the times in our lives when we have to absorb a deep loss or carry a heavy burden. It could be, as it was for Jesus, the loss of someone in death. But it could also be a fractured relationship because of divorce or misunderstanding, the consequence of a disastrous decision made by ourselves or someone we love, or a turn in our own health that reduces our abilities and leads to fear. When such blows and burdens come to us, we want to be alone. We need time to heal. Like Jesus, we desire to withdraw to a place by ourselves.<\/p>\n
But the gospel goes on from here. Although Jesus wanted to be alone, the crowds followed him on foot. Although he desired time to heal, the needs of others were great. They wanted to be cured. They wanted to be fed. So when Jesus disembarks from the boat, he sees a vast crowd. He would have every right to say, \u201cAre you kidding me? Don\u2019t these people know what I am dealing with? I need time by myself to grieve my loss.\u201d Yet Jesus did not exercise the right that was his. Instead, he was moved with pity. He cured their sick and fed them with the loaves and the fishes.<\/p>\n
Jesus reacted in this way because he was committed to his ministry. But also, on a deep human level, Jesus understood that sometimes the best way to heal our losses and carry our burdens is by reaching out in service to others. When life strikes us with a blow, we have every right to withdraw and lick our wounds. But that consolation has a time limit. If we withdraw for too long, our solace can become isolation and our comfort can become unhealthy. But when we reach out and share our gifts with others, we not only help them but we also learn that despite our loss we still have something to contribute, we still have a future.\u00a0So if you are grieving, if you are hurting, if you feel empty and unloved, depressed or alone, you can withdraw and reflect. But be quick to reach out. Ask yourself, \u201cWhat can I give?\u201d There is a real power in helping another person, and that power can raise us above our losses and our burdens.<\/p>\n
Even though he was dealing with the loss of John the Baptist, Jesus fed thousands in the wilderness. Our willingness to reach out of our pain to help others might not be as grand a gesture as Jesus\u2019. But it is still true compassion for our neighbor and healing for us. And that, in its own way, is a miracle.<\/p>\n
There is not enough food at the beginning of today\u2019s gospel. Jesus and disciples find themselves in a deserted place with a crowd of over five thousand people, and all they have is five loaves and two fish. But the disciples know what to do. They come to Jesus with the problem. He feeds the multitude, and all are satisfied. When they collect the leftover fragments, they fill twelve baskets. So, the peculiar thing about today\u2019s gospel is that there is more food at the end there was at the beginning. That makes today\u2019s gospel an example of faith. Faith tells us that when we are in need and come to the Lord, we can find ourselves having more at the end than we had at the beginning. This applies to all areas of our life.<\/p>\n
We might be struggling with a serious loss, disorientation, or depression. Our life might lack focus or direction. Faith tells us that we should bring this to the Lord and say, \u201cI have no energy, no hope.\u201d Then we should trust that Jesus will act. Faith does not promise us that our depression will immediately evaporate. But it challenges us to believe that if we allow the Lord to guide us, we will not only work our way through the loss, but we can end up a better person than we were before. We might be dealing with a serious hurt from a family member or a friend. We carry the anger from that hurt with us daily, and our heart shutters every time we think of it. This gospel tells us that we should bring the hurt to Jesus and tell him, \u201cThis hurt is killing me, I can\u2019t move forward. I don\u2019t have the strength to forgive.\u201d Now the gospel does not promise us that our hurt will immediately disappear, but it does challenge us to believe that healing is possible. If we place ourselves in the Lord\u2019s hands, we will not only come to a point where we can be free of hurt, but we can also end up being a wiser person for having worked through it. Our whole world continues to be paralyzed by the Coronavirus. We\u2019re tired of it. We want it to be over. Today\u2019s gospel tells us to bring that concern to Jesus and say, \u201cI don\u2019t have the patience or the strength to do this much longer. I\u2019m so tired of worrying about my family and friends. I don\u2019t k now what to do.\u201d The gospel does not guarantee us that we will have a vaccine tomorrow or that we and the people we love will never become infected. But it does invite us to place ourselves in Jesus\u2019 care, believing that we can not only survive this pandemic but also learn things about ourselves and our lives that will continue to enrich us even when the virus has been defeated.<\/p>\n
It is easy to panic when there is not enough food, when there is so much hunger and only five loafs and two fish. But today\u2019s gospel tells us that coming to Jesus can make a difference. If we ask him and trust him, we will not only find enough food for today, but we will also have twelve baskets full out of which we can build a better and richer tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Relationship Not a Bargain July 31, 2005 Romans 8:35, 37-39 A missionary bishop was called to confirm a group of children with severe mental and physical handicaps.\u00a0 Not one of all the children could do even the most rudimentary academic work.\u00a0 The chaplain at the home where the children resided warned the bishop, \u201cYou … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5879,"featured_media":0,"parent":584,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1859"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5657,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1859\/revisions\/5657"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingontheword.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}