Một ít bánh mì và hai con cá, làm sao mà đủ để nuôi bao nhiêu đây người?
Những năng khiếu, tài năng và khả năng giới hạn của chúng ta sẽ không thể giúp nuôi ăn cho tất cả những người đang đói khát và giúp cho những người rách rưới có đủ mặc ấm trong mùa đông, hay giúp làm giảm bớt những sự bần cùng, nghèo khổ của con người một cách hoàn toàn! Nhưng với những hồng ân và ơn sủng của Thiên Chúa sẽ đến và một ngày nào đó sẽ không còn người đói khát, không còn những nỗi buồn, lo âu , Không còn bệnh tật, không còn những sự nghèo hèn đói khổ.
Thiên Chúa sẽ làm phép lạ và làm cho điều này được xảy ra mà không phải do chúng ta. Tuy nhiên, Thiên Chúa sẽ không làm cho chúng ta những gì mà chúng ta có thể tự làm ra được với trí thông minh và khả năng mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta. Vì nhũng công việc đó là tất cả những gì trong vòng phạm vi hoạt động và khả năng của chúng ta, chúng ta có thể chia sẻ những nguồn lực mà chúng ta có, “một vài ổ bánh và ba con cá” với bao nhiêu người đang trong cơn đói khát, Chúng ta có thể chia sẻ sự phong phú củaTin Mừng. Chúng ta có thể chia sẻ lòng thương xót và sự tha thứ, như Chúa Giêsu đã làm bằng lời nói và các việc làm của chúng ta, chúng ta có thể giúp mọi người hiểu được và đi đến chỗ mà họ có thể tin rằng họ được yêu thương và họ đáng yêu và đáng được ấp ủ. Chúng ta có thể làm được điều đó nếu chúng ta sẵn sàng và vui lòng chia sẻ những gì mà bản thân chúng ta đã nhận được
Lạy Chúa, Xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết sẵn lòng đem Tin Mừng của Chúa đến cho những người nghèo bằng tình yêu thương chân thành như Chính Chúa đã dành cho chúng con và thương yêu chúng con.
Our limited gifts and talents and abilities are not going to feed all the hungry or clothe all the naked or completely alleviate poverty. But with God’s grace there will come a day when there will be no more hunger, no more sadness, no more illness and no more poverty. God will make it happen, not us. Yet God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.
It is within our purview to share what meager resources we have, our few loaves of bread and fish, with those who are hungry. We can share the riches of the Gospel. We can share mercy and forgiveness. Like Jesus, by our words and actions we can help people to understand and come to believe that they are loved and lovable and cherished. We can do it if we will share what we ourselves have first received. Lord, help me to bring the Good News to the poor.
Tuesday after Epiphany or January 8
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” Mark 6:35–36
It is wise to be practical, realistic, and pragmatic. But when it comes to Christ and our call to participate in His divine mission, pragmatism can sometimes be a hindrance. Today’s Gospel illustrates this truth powerfully.
The passage begins by showing the compassionate heart of Christ, who looked out upon the vast crowds of spiritually hungry people who were “like sheep without a shepherd.” Without a shepherd, sheep wander aimlessly, often missing the greenest pastures. Moved with compassion, Jesus feeds His flock by teaching them “many things.”
Then came a test—not so much for the crowd, but for Jesus’ Apostles whom He was training to continue His mission. Though the Apostles eventually shared in Jesus’ mission as the first bishops of the Church, we are all called to participate in His mission in our unique ways. Therefore, the test Jesus gave to His Apostles is just as relevant to us today.
When the Apostles suggested dismissing the crowd to find food, Jesus surprised them with a challenging command: “Give them some food yourselves.” This was the test. Jesus knew full well that they lacked the resources to feed thousands, but He posed the challenge to draw out their faith. Rather than acting themselves or turning to Him in confident trust, they responded with human logic and doubt. It was only when they presented their meager resources—five loaves and two fish—that Jesus performed the miracle, showing them that divine power begins where human resources end. This moment taught the Apostles that their role in Christ’s mission would not depend on their sufficiency, but on their obedience, trust, and cooperation with His grace.
Consider how this test applies to your life. First, reflect on the crowd. Do you know people who are “like sheep without a shepherd?” Who are the wandering, the searching, and the hungry? Some are physically hungry—the poor and destitute. Others might be materially well-off but are spiritually starving. The first step in our “test” is to recognize those in need, whether physical or spiritual.
Once we perceive the needs of others, we must consider how our Lord wants to use us to meet those needs. This is where practicality or pragmatism must be harmonized with supernatural prudence. It’s easy to look at another’s needs and think, “There is little I can do.” Indeed, by ourselves, we are powerless to provide what others truly need. But when we offer the little we have to Christ, trusting in His supernatural power, our small offering is divinely transformed into a source of abundant blessings. Our “five loaves and two fish” represent our willingness to give what we have, knowing that, with God’s grace, it can feed the multitudes.
Reflect today on this Gospel passage as if you were standing with the Twelve Apostles. Consider those God has placed in your life who are hungry and wandering. As you identify them, offer to God everything you have and all that you are, trusting that He desires to work through you. With deep faith, you will be amazed at what God can accomplish through your humble offering.
My providential Lord, Your compassion is unfathomable, and Your grace is all-powerful. Give me a heart like Yours so that I may see those whom You want to love through me. Grant me courage and faith so that I may offer my life to You—everything that I am and have—so that You can bring superabundant blessings through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, this entire week, I will be contemplating the epiphany of your Son. He manifested your glory to Israel and to all the nations. He cured the sick and did mighty deeds to testify to his divine nature as your Son. I believe in him, in you, and in your Holy Spirit.
Encountering the Word of God
1. A Prophet Like Moses: Yesterday, we contemplated the epiphany of Jesus as the King who restores the Kingdom of David and establishes it as an everlasting Kingdom that has its small beginning in the Church. Today, we contemplate the epiphany and revelation of Jesus as the Great Prophet. The promise of a Great Prophet is found in the Book of Deuteronomy (18:15), where God promises to send his people a prophet like Moses. Many prophets, such as the prophet Elijah, were like Moses. But the one who would ultimately fulfill the prophecy of Deuteronomy was Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22; 7:37). Moses was a ruler, preacher, lawgiver, intercessor, wonderworker, and foreseer of the future. Jesus does all of these and does them in a superior fashion. Today’s Gospel recalls how the people of Israel were fed by God in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. The first line in today’s Gospel speaks about sheep without a shepherd. Moses was a shepherd (Exodus 3:1) and tended the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. While tending the sheep, the Lord called Moses to tend his people and lead them out of Egypt to the land promised to Abraham. In the Gospel, Jesus sees the vast crowd and, like God the Father, has pity on them. Jesus, like Moses, will shepherd them and lead them out of slavery to sin and into the Promised Land of Heaven.
2. The New Manna: One of the greatest works of the Lord God in the desert was providing Manna for his people. We read in Exodus: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). When the disciples approached Jesus, they pointed out how the vast crowd had followed Jesus into a deserted place and needed food. Instead of sending the people to the local farms and villages to buy bread and food, Jesus commands his disciples to give the crowd something to eat. The miracle of feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish looks forward to the Eucharist, to the New Manna, which feeds God’s adopted children for eternal life. The old Manna was sufficient to sustain God’s people for a day in the wilderness. The New Manna nourishes us, not just for a day, but for eternal life.
3. Five Loaves, Two Fish, Twelve Baskets, Five Thousand Men: All of the numbers in the Gospels have a profound meaning. Nothing is arbitrary. The number five recalls the Law of Moses, the first five books of the Bible. These five books narrate the story of creation, the fall of humanity, the renewal of the covenant of creation with Noah, the sin of the Tower of Babel, the covenant promises made with Abraham, the twelve sons of Israel, the exodus from Egypt, the covenant at Sinai, the worship of the golden calf, the priestly code and the holiness code in Leviticus, the ten rebellions of the people during their 40 years in the desert, and the “second law” given by Moses before the people entered the promised land. While the five loaves and five thousand men symbolize the five books of the Old Law given by Moses, the two fish symbolize the New Law given by Jesus, the New Moses: love God above all things and love your neighbor as yourself. The twelve baskets symbolize the New Israel, which gathers people not just from Jacob’s 12 descendants but from all nations into the new Kingdom of God.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for the awesome gift of the Eucharist. Help me to appreciate how you have stayed close to us through the centuries and will continue to do so. I want to spend more time with you this year. Help me to do so.
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