They don't need to go away; you give them food!
The main thought of today's Gospel is contained in the title: “Give them some food yourselves!" With these words Jesus addressed the apostles. These words are also addressed to us. The apostles think humanly. First they suggest: This place is empty and the season is too late. So let the crowds disperse: go to the village and buy themselves food! It seems logical. Big crowd. All day in the wilderness. It is obvious that people are hungry. And in the middle of nowhere, it's hard to find shops. Even today, despite so many supermarkets, hypermarkets, shopping malls and neighborhood shops. Sometimes it's hard to find a place where you can buy the most necessary products. So it is easy to imagine the concern of the apostles. But there is also the other side of the coin. Thinking like God not human. After all, they were with Jesus 24/7. They had seen all of His miracles. Why, then, were they afraid of such a mundane matter as food?
Jesus says: YOU give them something to eat! It must have been a surprising command. Several thousand people came to listen to Jesus, it is getting late, and we are in the wilderness. And Jesus says: It is YOU who give them food ... but we only have so much that it is barely enough for us. Does not matter! It is YOU who give them to eat. I think we understand what's going on. It doesn't take much, you don't have to be taller, stronger, more capable, better educated. Christ needs you for what you are...
It doesn't matter that you have nothing. Give what you have. We only have five loaves and two fish. Perhaps you too only have five loaves and two fish. This is all you have in your spiritual life. But that's enough for a miracle to happen. Just don't keep it to yourself. Offer it to Jesus.
He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, then took five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed, and broke the loaves, gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.
This miracle has stages. And this is important. So what did Jesus do before the miracle took place?
He took bread and fish...
He looked up at the heaven...
He said a blessing...
He broke...
He gave it to the disciples ... and the disciples gave the people
Every other action of Jesus is similar when we cooperate with Him. When we entrust our problems to Him, but at the same time cooperate in solving them.
He takes them...
He looks at the haven...
He blesses...
Breaks...
Gave...
And we should pass on ... Because this miracle does not look like in movies telling biblical stories. There is no "magic" multiplication here. There were five loaves and two fish, suddenly BOM! And there are 5000 loaves and 5000 fish. A miracle occurs during the handing out. Hundreds of loaves and fish do not appear "out of nowhere" but the miracle of multiplication is noticed after the fact ... when baskets of fragments are collected. And such a miracle can happen in us.
With nothing we can feed the crowds but we won't do it alone. We have to be with Jesus.
But also the other way, Jesus will not do anything himself. He can do but he does not.
Why? Because He needs our cooperation, our initiative. Because it is through us that His miracles can be performed.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george