First Reading: 2 Kgs 4:42-44; Psalm: 23. R. v. 1; Second Reading: Eph 4:1-6; Gospel: Jn 6:1-15
THE CHARITY OF A LITTLE BOY
BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP
Our gospel reading of today is composed of a couple of twists. It began with a multitude who accompanied Jesus motivated by the signs and healing miracles performed by him. This multitude appeared like a people thirsting for bodily and spiritual healing. But then when Jesus looked up from the hills and saw them coming, he saw a multitude famished and enervated from a journey. At this point, Jesus felt the desire to feed them with material food. After successfully doing this, the crowd suddenly became selfish as their desire completely took a different turn. It was no longer about seizing the present moment; it was now about making Jesus their king and keeping him all to themselves. When Jesus perceived their plan, he withdrew to the hills by himself.
Our reflection today will be centred on the feeding of this multitude. Not mainly on the miracle of the multiplication of loaves; but on the kind gesture that sets the tone for this miracle – the boy who gave away his lunch.
At first, Jesus had a plan on how to achieve this task of feeding this great multitude. For when he asked Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” he asked only to test Philip for he knew what he would do. But it appears Jesus changed his plan when an opportunity presented itself to serve as an example to inspire others. For as Jesus was speaking with Philip, Andrew quickly cut in with a suggestion that seems pointless and impracticable – “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?” It is important to note that the discovery of this meagre meal does not translate to its availability for use. This is probably the boy’s lunch or the lunch of his siblings kept in his custody. And for it to be available, the boy will first have to give it up.
Now, there are a couple of points to note here. Among this crowd of five thousand men (excluding the women and children), it will be unrealistic to think that only this lad had some food with him. Andrew perchance may have discovered the five loaves and two fish; but it is risky to take away the lunch of the boy or to convince him to do so without any assurance that he would have it back. What that lad did, whether it was out of persuasion or willingness requires a lot of faith and courage. He gave away his lunch and had a surplus of twelve baskets of what he gave away. Our God can do great things with the little things we provide.
The core point of this reflection is not about giving up our last means of survival. It is about seeing the bigness in the small things we do and learning to give even in scarcity. According to Kevin Heath, “No act of kindness is too small. The gift of kindness may start as a small ripple that over time can turn into a tidal wave affecting the lives of many.” And Saint Francis the Sales puts the icing on the cake when he said; “Doing little things with a strong desire to please God makes them really great.”
Essentially, the miracle of the multiplication of loaves points to the Eucharist; for from one body, God fed many and abundance remained. One piece of bread was broken and the result was eternal life. And from the flesh of one man, the world was fed. But as we focus on the kind act of the lad in the gospel of today, we have also come to see that God can do great things from little things if we offered them in love. If we wait to give from our abundance, we may never give because we can never have enough.
In our world today, we do not only face the despicable reality where the poor suffer in the midst of plenty. We are also facing the sad reality where the poor feels too poor to share the little they have with the poorest. But in truth, no one is too poor not to share. Statistics have shown that the poor are more charitable than the wealthy. But are there poor ones among us who use their poor status as an excuse to circumvent generosity? Maybe yes. If there are people poorer than we are; then we owe those people some kindness no matter how little. Much as those who have are encouraged to give; those who have not should not feel exonerated to share what they have received.
Let me share with us a very touching story that never gets old, drawn from the personal experience of St Teresa of Calcutta:
Learning of a poor Hindu family in Calcutta who had been starving for many days, Mother Theresa visited them and brought a big parcel of rice for the mother. She was surprised to see how the mother divided the rice into two equal portions and went out with one bundle to give it to her Moslem neighbor. When she returned, Mother Theresa asked her why she had done such a generous deed. The woman replied: “My family can manage with half the rice in this bag. My neighbor’s family has several children and they are also starving.”
God blesses every little act of charity done for the love of neighbour; and it spirals into an unbreakable chain of charity. Don’t break that chain. Pass it on.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, instil in us genuine love for you and for one another; so that even in scarcity, generosity may prevail. Help us to see that you multiply every act of charity done out of pure love; so that we may keep the chain of charity unbroken. Amen.
