No is so poor that he has nothing to give

 

18^th Sunday -year A

I.We are very familiar with this miracle story, commonly called “The multiplication of the loaves. “ 

-          Madalas ang tanong ay paano nangyari o paano ginawa at naparami ang tinapay.  But let us look instead at the lessons and implications of this miracle for us, in our lives today.

II.In the Gospel, the people are in a tight situation, difficult situation with Jesus and the apostles.  They are in a remote place, it is getting dark, there is no enough food and they are so many.

-          Similarly, our country and many of our people are in a tight, difficult situation right now.  The cost of living is high and the cost of everything is rising up everyday.  Personally, sino sa atin dito ang di apektado.  Kahit na malaki ang income mo, sigurado ang effect ng mataas na bilihin ay nararanasan mo.  Ang  gastos mo napapalaki.

-          Sa madaling sabi the situation we are in right now maybe similar to the situation the crowd and the apostles found themselves in – there is no food and it is getting dark! 

III.So what do we do?  What is Jesus telling or reminding us now through this miracle? When we are in a tight situation, what can we do to get out of that spot? There are three things the Lord is teaching us.

A.       Know how to make self-sacrifices. Dito sa ebanghelyo, masyadong nalungkot si Hesus ng malaman niya na patay na si John the Baptist and he wanted to be alone by himself. He needed time to be alone. To be in solitude. He wanted to be pray. So he got into a boat and went to a deserted place, away from people.

-                But when a big crowd met him, he forgot about his plans. He sacrificed his own comfort  and attended to the needs of the people. Sa halip na makapag-isa at magkarun ng panahon  sa sarili, sinimulang niya ng mangaral at magpagaling ng mga maysakit. 

-                Hindi nagalit si Hesus sa mga taong sumunod sa kanya.  Hindi nya sinabing, “Ano ba kayo?  Hindi nyo ba nakitang gusto kong mapag-isa!  Namatay ang pinsan ko mahirap bang intindihin yon?  Umuwi na kayo.  Pwede?  Day off ko ngayon!”

-                A tight situation always calls for some sacrifice from us. Difficult situations often challenge us to make sacrifices and forget ourselves.

B.       Have the same kind of compassion. A compassion that looks beyond one’s personal welfare and personal needs. Jesus wants us to look beyond personal sorrows, personal aches and hurts, and allow ourselves to reach out and see the needs of other people.

-          Jesus always has time for people. Ang kanyang kalungkutan o grief ay hindi naging reason to excuse himself from seeing and attending to people’s needs.  Palagi syang may panahon sa tao.

-          Ang ating sariling pangangailangan ay hindi dapat maging dahilan, o maging excuse na hindi natin makita ang pangangailangan ng iba.  Oo, may pangangailangan ka, pero hindi yon dahilan para di mo makita ang pangangalingan ng iba.

-          And our compassion must lead a person to action. Compassion should be transmitted into action. It is not enough, na maawa ka. Habag o awa in itself, per se, walang nagagawa, kailangang may konkretong kilos na gagawin.

-          Dito ang mga disciples nahabag din, naawa din sa mga tao, pero hanggang dun lang, naaawa lang, nahahabag lang, pero walang pagkilos. Ng gumabi na, pinaaalis na nila ang mga tao para mahanap ng makakain.

-          Kaya ang sinabi ni Hesus sa kanila, “Hindi, hindi nila kailangang umalis, kayo mismo, kayo ang magbigay ng pagkain sa kanila!”

-          Si Hesus di lamang naawa, nangaral, nagpagaling ng mga maysakit, at nagpakain pa, mula sa 5 loaves of bread and two fish, pinakain nya ang lahat ng tao.  May sobra pa.

C.       When in a tight situation, be contented with what you have. Jesus took the few loaves and two fish. That was all they gave him and he did not look for more.

-                It is when we look for more and beyond our means that makes the situation tightier. We sometimes look for what is not there and fail to notice what we already have. Sabi nga ng matatanda, “ Kapag maikli ang kumot, matutong mamaluktot! ”

IV. Mga kapatid, the greatest miracle that happened was not the multiplication of loaves and fish. The greatest miracle that happened was the conversion of people’s hearts.  That changed to selfish to selfless – from a selfish indifferent crowd to a sharing and caring community.

-                Nang makita nilang pinaghatihati ni Hesus ang tinapay para ipamigay, ipakain sa napakaraming tao, na touched sila at sinimulan nilang ilabas ang kanilang nga baon, ipamahagi sa iba.

-                Another lesson, na pwedeng matutunan, is that, no one is so poor that he/she has nothing to give. Mga kapatid do not be afraid to give, simply because you seem to have nothing. The little we have, gaano man kaliit o kaunti, when put in the hands of Jesus, can perform great miracles, great wonders.

-                When we’re faced with the needs of other people, it is always convenient to excuse ourselves with, not having enough. Oftentimes it is not a question of having little or having nothing, but a question of not wanting to help or share.

-                Mga kapatid, katulad ng sinasabi sa mga readings natin, from the book of Isaiah, “ You have no money? Come receive grain and eat…”;  and the  Letter to the Romans, “ Trust and feed on God…”!