SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, PRIEST AND MARTYR (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

He himself knew what he was going to do. 

Here’s a puzzle.   If Jesus already had a plan for feeding thousands of people, if he knew what he was going to do, why would he ask his disciples to solve the problem?   He could have miraculously removed the crowd’s hunger or made food materialize before each person.   But instead, he made his disciples central to this miracle.   As simplistic as it might sound, Jesus wanted them to be part of what he was planning to do.   So he asked them how to feed the crowd.

Philip gave an analytical response.   He calculated that one year’s worth of wages would be needed to satisfy the people’s hunger.   Andrew, for his part, looked at the matter practically: this little boy’s lunch, while not being nearly enough, could still help contribute to the cause.   Then came Jesus’ solution, a miracle so stunning that people still talk about it today.

Imagine what was going through these disciples’ minds as Jesus blessed and broke the bread and they started distributing it.   Something was happening!   A miracle unfolded before them slowly as they kept handing out bread and fish.   No matter how many times they dipped into the baskets, they kept coming up with more and more food.   In the end, the people had eaten their fill, and the disciples understood just a little more about how God takes care of his people.

Jesus never stops working through his followers.   He never stops making us an essential part of his plan—his plan to care for all his people as well as his plan to bring his believers to deeper faith.   So while Philip and Andrew show us who we are, Jesus shows us who we can become.   Imperfect though we are, Jesus asks us for our participation so that we can see more and more of his ways.   He takes our meager offerings and multiplies them beyond our expectations so that we can grow in trust and be more willing to step out in faith.

Because in the end, Jesus’ plan is much bigger than our abilities—and so is his desire for us to be part of it.

“Lord, help me trust that you know what you’re doing.   I want to be part of your plan for this world.”

Acts 5:34-42
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14