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Lessons from the Boy
Marinette Uy
"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten."
(John 6:9-13)
Instead of focusing on the miracle of the multiplication of loaves or the feeding of five thousand men, let us look at this passage in a different light, by redirecting our attention on the boy with five loaves and two fish. Let us probe into his thoughts and feelings at that time -- how famished and tired he must have felt after that long journey, and having brought with him five small barley loaves and two small fish, which were just enough to satisfy his own hunger and sustain him on his way back! Yet, when the apostles asked the big crowd for something to eat, there was no hesitation on his part, he was ready to give his share.
Looking deeper into this passage, we can discover some important gems that we can learn from the boy. Pardon the "preachy-ness" of the article, but the essence could be worth pondering on. :
He was among the crowd following Jesus.
Most of us could probably identify ourselves with the boy-young, energetic, idealistic, filled with a lot of potentials. Young as he is, there was a conscious decision on his part to know Christ better and follow His ways. How do we see Christ in our life today? Are we exerting enough effort to learn more about Christ and get closer to Him?
He was picked out because of what he had.
The apostles were asked to look for something to feed the huge crowd, and they saw this boy who had five loaves and two fish. What do we have that may be of good use to our community and the Church? We may take some time to look into ourselves, and examine our strengths and weaknesses. How do we make use of our time, talents and treasure in the Christian community?
He was generous in his response.
Yes, he had some food with him. But if he was not willing to give these to the apostles, then I guess there would be no multiplication of loaves to start with. It all began with the boy's generosity, which, looking on further, stemmed from his awareness of the people around him. Are we aware that we belong to a community? From birth, all of us belong to a family, the basic unit of the community. From baptism, we belong to a Christian community, the Church. With such awareness comes our response to what's happening to our community. What is our attitude towards the needs of our family? our Christian community?
There was no mention of the boy anymore.
Towards the end of the passage, there was nothing more about the boy that was mentioned-his name, his whereabouts… practically nothing. The focus was on Jesus! The boy was an instrument to direct the people's attention to Jesus. He played an important part on the miracle as a whole, but how come he didn't ask for any recognition after giving his share? It is certainly because of his genuine humility and generosity that made him respond and serve without "counting the cost". Moving on towards the end of the whole passage, we slowly discover that there was "more of HIM (Jesus), and less of the boy". As we grow to become spiritually mature Filipino-Chinese Catholic Christians, may we always ask the Holy Spirit to imbibe in us this spirit of genuine and humble service that all our efforts may give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Everyone benefited.
Have you ever had an experience wherein you did a small part (whether positive or negative) that you didn't initially think would result to a great impact (on people or in the organization)? Well, if your answer is a resounding "yes", then you can definitely relate yourself with the boy! He must not have realized how his five small barley loaves and two fish could've filled the stomachs of around five thousand men. All it took was a generous action from a little boy, but the effect was amazingly wonderful-everyone benefited, all had more than enough to eat. As the familiar song goes, "It only takes a spark to get a fire going…" Do we realize that we are all called to share in Christ's salvific mission?
From another perspective, the Gospel reading above acknowledges the fact that we are part and parcel of a community, (a Christian community at that) and challenges us to respond to this fact by loving God and one another, and use many gifts that we have to foster growth in the Christian community, the Body of Christ.
If you have any feedback, comments or related stories you would like to share you're welcome to send them in. I can be reached at marinetteuy@yahoo.com. Thanks and God bless you all!
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