The Miracle of Love in Generosity

“Those who ate were about five thousand men,

not counting women and children.”

~ Matthew 14: 21

“Gratitude changes what we have to enough!”

In the Matthew Gospel narrative of the miracle of Jesus Christ feeding five thousand men, without counting the women and children, there are many obvious signs of how God perceived our circumstances. And to me it is a miracle of love in generosity.

When Jesus Christ heard about the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds heard of this, they followed him!

In spite of his mourning, Jesus Christ recognized the needs of those who sincerely seek him and therefore he not only took pity, but also began to heal their sickness.

As time was running late and evening fast approaching and  with the people most definitely hungry for physical food, having being fed with spiritual one by Jesus Christ, the disciples of the Lord quietly suggested that the Master send the people to the neighboring villages to get food having sensed the impending disaster!

Well, Jesus Christ is not having any of such, as he responded by challenging the disciples to provide the people with their physical needs! But they said to him,

“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

Taking the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over- twelve wicker baskets full.

In the 1990’s, the Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Otukpo, Rev. Fr. Fidelis Orgah (Late Bishop F. O. Orgah) gave a sermon on the miracle of Jesus Christ feeding five thousand men using the St. John version of the Gospel account which highlight the generosity of the young boy! That sermon never departed from my consciousness because of the way that the Holy Spirit ministered through him on that day.

THE MIRACLE

Jesus Christ feeding of the five thousand men not counting the women and children is considered to be a miracle because it is an extraordinary event, supernatural to say the least mediated by divine intervention!

When he took custody of the bread and fish, his first action was to look up to heaven (I lift up my eyes to the mountain (up toward heaven) where does my help comes from, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth), secondly said the blessing, then thirdly broke the bread and fish, forth, gave them to the disciples (agents of the good news) and finally the disciples gave them to the people. Everyone that witnessed what happened believed that this was an extraordinary event! They ate and were satisfied!

THE LOVE

True love is made manifest in the vicinity of sacrifice, the willingness to forget “self” and focus on others comfort. Jesus Christ is the epitome of love, because he scarified his life in order to bring salvation to humanity.

Today we must ask ourselves, how can I show love toward my neighbors? When we love as Jesus Christ commanded us, it does not deprive us of our talents, gifts or even wealth or riches, on the contrary, our Lord and God will multiply it as he did in the Gospel.

THE GENEROSITY

In the world where greed, egocentrism and selfishness are commonplace, it is gratifying to read in today’s Gospel about the exclamation line “But all we have are five loaves and two fish.”

By simple definition, a generous individual is that person who is ready to give more than is expected, whether it is his or her talents, money and compassion, it might be time and energy, ability to listen, show understanding and comfort a grieving person, gifts of food and drink to those who are in need, and it may be just paying a visit to a prisoner, a sick person or one who is neglected by the society.

The most remarkable part of generosity is that, it does not ask for anything in return and this is where the miracle of love in generosity converges, and under such circumstances, gratitude for what God has done for us changes what we have to enough! Yes, enough for everyone to have a share in the miracle.

REFLECTION

Have you ever wonder how God continue to perform in the most extraordinary fashion his miracles among us today?

We are the ingredients of God’s miracles if only we allow ourselves to become the instrument of love and generosity.

In the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men, Jesus Christ is showing us what can happen to us if we allow our actions to be guide by love and a generous heart.

He will lead us to the promised land of true justice, peace and love, comfort and protection, prosperity and longevity, if only we are ready to allow him to work with us, in us and through us.

Whenever you share your talents with others, especially with those who may not have anything to offer you in return, Jesus Christ is telling you today that he will not only satisfy those you are helping to bring his “light and love”, but will also multiply your talents thousand fold!

Whenever you challenge yourself to help pay the bills, assist to feed the hungry and give drink to the poor, when you offer your time and energy to help a forgotten, troubled and one facing the harsh reality of hitting the bottom rock in his or her life, you are like the one who provided the five loaves and two fish in the Gospel today.

When you assist those going through rough times in their lives; marriage, career and dealing with their relationship, while expecting nothing in return, Jesus Christ will perform yet another miracle through your sacrifices and make the recipients of your love and generosity satisfied again.

The challenges we now face may suffice in the following questions:

Am I ready to allow Jesus Christ work miracle for my neighbor through me?

Am I ready to allow Jesus Christ to multiply other blessings through me?

Am I ready to allow Jesus Christ to come and dwell within me?

Am I an agent of love and generosity for the sake of Jesus Christ?

Our answers to these questions are necessary to help us become the “light” of the world and the “salt’ of the earth and thereby making our world a better place in anticipation of the “Kingdom of God” fulfillment in the Lord’s Prayer.

As we mediate on the miracle of Jesus Christ feeding the five thousand men, not counting the women and children, let us not forget that the real miracle in our contemporary society is to become the provider of the five loaves and two fish, in order words, we must love and be generous towards others because of our love for God.

We came to this world with nothing and so shall we depart, however the love we share and the generosity that exhibit will live on in the hearts of the recipients, in the same way that we are reading through the Gospel according to Matthew today.

PRAYER

O dear heavenly Father,

I thank you for the generous gift of your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our salvation because of you infinite love for humanity.

Today I want you to make me your instrument of love and generosity.

Help me to bring justice, love and peace to those I shall encounter today.

Help me to bring comfort physical and emotional to people in my live.

Help me to assist those in need today.

Help me to show gratitude at every point in my life.

And above all, help me to do all these because I love you and nothing else, so that my ultimate reward will be a share in bringing glory to your holy name through my life here on earth.

Amen!

Ref: Mathew 14, Psalm 121,

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