The story of multiplication of the loaves and fishes was the Gospel for Mass yesterday. All the time I was growing up, well, for the first 50 years or so of my life, the story suggested to me that Jesus was God and He would feed his sheep. Then a few years ago in a sermon, a Priest pointed out that perhaps the miracle of the loaves and fishes was a more human miracle. Perhaps the folks who were sitting out there listening to Jesus had stashes of food themselves and when the baskets were passed that day, they shared what they had and that's what created the surplus that became visible once the scraps were collected.
I do not think this second interpretation is new, but it is different from what I learned. And I did find myself looking at the Gospel a little deeper. Once I am taught something, especially when the Sisters taught it or reinforced it in Catholic School, I don't like a whole new slant encroaching itself on my head. But, I did think about it...for a while. Then I said to myself, I think I will stick to the original interpretation: Jesus performed a miracle and fed thousands of people with a few fish and seven loaves.
Our Priest made a great point yesterday in his sermon at Mass that I thought was worth mentioning here. He pointed out that our math is not the same as God's math. When we believe that the world has us cornered and the deck is stacked against us, don't despair. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes reminds us that we should not confine our hopes and dreams to human logic. I don't think the idea is to have false hope--that each and every problem is just going to go away, but I think it's a very good idea to maintain hope and faith in God at all times and know He will take care of us. Regardless of what we face, one way or another there is good on the other side of it. When the chips are down, we don't need to mope about, because with God, it will all come out in the wash. And in this way, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is really one that requires us to reflect back to ourselves. While God will take care of us, we need to maintain faith that He will. And when we have that kind of faith, our lives here will be so much better. We can stop worrying so much because we know the Lord has no limitations. The Lord is not confined to our mathematics.
I do not think this second interpretation is new, but it is different from what I learned. And I did find myself looking at the Gospel a little deeper. Once I am taught something, especially when the Sisters taught it or reinforced it in Catholic School, I don't like a whole new slant encroaching itself on my head. But, I did think about it...for a while. Then I said to myself, I think I will stick to the original interpretation: Jesus performed a miracle and fed thousands of people with a few fish and seven loaves.
Our Priest made a great point yesterday in his sermon at Mass that I thought was worth mentioning here. He pointed out that our math is not the same as God's math. When we believe that the world has us cornered and the deck is stacked against us, don't despair. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes reminds us that we should not confine our hopes and dreams to human logic. I don't think the idea is to have false hope--that each and every problem is just going to go away, but I think it's a very good idea to maintain hope and faith in God at all times and know He will take care of us. Regardless of what we face, one way or another there is good on the other side of it. When the chips are down, we don't need to mope about, because with God, it will all come out in the wash. And in this way, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is really one that requires us to reflect back to ourselves. While God will take care of us, we need to maintain faith that He will. And when we have that kind of faith, our lives here will be so much better. We can stop worrying so much because we know the Lord has no limitations. The Lord is not confined to our mathematics.
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