HE MUST BE SMILING WHEN HE TAUGHT THEM

Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 14:13-21

I smile whenever I read the Gospel for today. The disciples recognized a problem: there were so many people and the food was in shortage. Notice: not that there was no food but that the food was not enough for all. It even seemed like the disciples tried to hide from Jesus the fact that they had food with them. Thus, their advice to Jesus was to dismiss the crowd. When shortage is real, the temptation to horde is very real.

However, Jesus, from whom we cannot hide anything, addressed the problem by making the disciples address the problem themselves. “There is no need to send them away. Give them something to eat yourselves,” said Jesus (Jesus must be smiling deep inside when He said this). When the problem is so real, the escaping from it becomes an easy option.

Shame must have covered the hearts, not only the faces, of the disciples as Jesus taught them that the answer to shortage is generosity and that problems are better confronted with childlike trust in Divine Providence rather than brushed aside with the force of human inadequacies.

We are no better than the disciples, are we?

Jesus looks straight to our eyes today as we reflect on His Living Word. He gaze is steady and His voice plain, “Is it true that there is not enough to share or it is more accurate that there is little generosity to show? Are you really aiming to solve the problem with the My help or are you really trying to escape from it with your fears?”

We cannot hide anything from the Lord. Let us be honest with our answers.

Smile, He is opening our hearts for another miracle!

You are that miracle.

Smile!