Gratefulness and Generosity

This morning at Mass, Father Michael preached on the gospel of the feeding of the 5000. It's a really familiar story, one that all of us can recite from memory, but, as usual, Father brought out facets of the scripture that I hadn't thought of.



He began with the difference between Christ's view of the world and that of the apostles. Faced with the problem of feeding a massive crowd with so few resources (5 loaves and 2 small fish), the apostles despaired. They focused on the negative: how can we feed so many people with so little food? It's impossible! We need to get these people out of here and have them get food for themselves. We wash our hands of this problem!



Christ, on the other hand, gave thanks for what had been provided -- the very same loaves and fish dismissed as insufficient by His followers -- and the rest is history. The gifts at hand, appreciated and treasured for their goodness, were multiplied beyond all "reasonable" expectations. It's the same story with all of us. In life, God provides us with all manner of talents, resources and gifts as well as some faults and imperfections. We can either look at our glass as "half empty" or "half full". It's our choice, but clearly the Lord would prefer that we take the latter approach, just as He did.



Father's second point concerned generosity. Most of us, when faced with a shortage, choose to hoard. When the economy takes a dive, we reduce our charitable giving. When there was a gas shortage in America, what did all of us do? That's right, we rushed out and filled up all of our cars, even if we weren't actually planning on going anywhere. If we have too little food, we certainly don't hand out what we have to the poor -- we go shopping to replenish and refill "our barns with grain", just like the rich man in the scripture. Certainly, it's "natural" to provide for oneself first -- or is it? When Jesus was faced with the prospect of feeding 5000 people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, he not only gave thanks for the resources, he GAVE EVERYTHING AWAY! Unbelievable, but true....and look what happened, his generosity was rewarded so that at the end of the meal, the scraps filled 12 baskets.



What would the world be like if all of us truly took to heart these two lessons? Or, better yet, what would it be like if I took to heart these two lessons? Change begins with all of us individually. This week, I resolve to be more grateful for all the blessings I have and more generous in gifting them to others.