By Fr James Kerr
Each of the Gospels give at least one account of Jesus feeding the large crowd with the tiny offering of loaves and fishes presented to him. Clearly it was a pivotal moment, as none of the evangelists were ready to omit it. They knew it was too important. I’ve always liked the story, but increasingly it has deepened in importance for me too.
When I first started as a priest, I could ride high on the initial wave of enthusiasm, confidence and energy. I felt like I had a lot to offer and a lot to give. My joy in the ministry has never abated (if anything it deepens year by year), but as the challenges stack up and I come to a more realistic appraisal of my own shortcomings, I can often find myself feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the task in front of me.
Perhaps this is a bit how the disciples felt when Jesus asked them to feed the crowd. Perhaps they were even a bit frustrated, muttering to themselves, ‘Come on Jesus, this is too much!’ And yet, he invited them to entrust what they could into his hands, as little as it was, and with that he was able to feed the crowd. He blessed and multiplied their offering so that, as small as it was, it was more than enough.
And that mystery opens up an ever deeper confidence and hope in what Christ can achieve through us in this awesome ministry. In truth, we can’t feed his flock, or at least, we can’t on our own devices. But week by week we place what we can on the altar of the Eucharist, and he does the rest.