Reflection for Monday, 18th Week of Ordinary Time 

By

 

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest, Bidar

Memorial of St. Alphonsus of Liguori 

Today's Gospel Reading 

Matthew  14: 13-21 

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 

“Bring them here to me,” he said.  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

Today's Reflection 

No Easy Way Out

People must have Shaken Their Heads in Dismay at the Clash Between the Official Prophet, Hananiah, & the More Charismatic Jeremiah, when Hananiah Took the Threatening Yoke Off the Neck of Jeremiah & Broke It. 

Scholars can Assure Us that Jeremiah Truly Spoke the WORD of GOD, while Hananiah was a False Prophet. 

The Quarrel between Jeremiah & Hananiah was Public & for a Time Jeremiah was Silently Embarrassed, Tempted to Give Up, Not Knowing what Answer to Give to Hananiah. Eventually He was Vindicated, but in the Meanwhile He had to Put His Faith in GOD, Strengthen His Conscience & Pray for Wisdom.

JESUS' Disciples too were Tempted to Follow the Easier Way Out of Trouble. We Read how HIS Disciples Came to HIM with the Suggestion, “This is a Deserted Place & It is Already Late. Dismiss the Crowds so that They may Go to the Villages & Buy Some Food for Themselves.” 

Whenever We Ourselves are Faced with Difficulty, Our 1st Response should Not Be Dictated by an Easy Way Out, Nor By Our Command of Financial or Other Resources, but by Loving, Tender Compassion & Personal Care. In This Part of Our heart, We Hear GOD'S WORD. 

In the Gospel Today, there is Quite a Difference Between the Reaction of JESUS & the Reaction of the Disciples to the Sight of a Large Hungry Crowd in the Wilderness. (It’s much the Same with Regard to the Refugee Crisis; People Differ Greatly about what to Do with Them).

The Disciples Wanted JESUS to Send the Crowd Away. JESUS Wanted HIS Disciples to Make Some Effort to Feed the Crowd. 

Even though They Protested that They would Not Be Able to Find Enough Food to Feed the Crowd, JESUS Persisted, & Got Them to Bring the Little Food They could Find to HIM. Then with that Little, with Those Few Resources, the LORD Fed the Crowd with the Help of HIS Disciples. 

The Gospel Suggests that the LORD will Always Encourage Us to Take on Some Service of Others, even when We may Feel that Our Resources are Inadequate. The LORD can Work Wonders through the Very Ordinary & Sometimes Unpromising Looking Resources & Gifts that We Possess. We Have to Do Our Bit, Like the Disciples in the Gospel, but the LORD Always Does Much More. 

Yet, if We are Not Willing to Do the Little We Can with what We Have, the LORD'S Own Capacity for Ministry to Others is Curtailed. 

The LORD Needs Our Resources, Small & Inadequate as They may Seem to Continue HIS Good Work Among Us & in the World.

Good morning

Have a lovely day and a great week ahead