July 26, 2009: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

What more could we and should we be doing to feed the hungry?

When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test Philip, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6:5-9)

I think you know the rest of the story. If not, read John 6:1-15. Everyone ate until they were full. With “five barley loaves and two fish” there was more than enough to feed all those people. Jesus certainly performed a miracle, but he had the help of a generous young boy who shared what he had.

Action:

Sometimes we do nothing because we believe it will make no difference. How wrong we are! Everything counts! The next time you are tempted to wonder “Who cares?” or “What difference will it make?” think again! Remember this gospel story and how a small amount fed everyone. How do we feed the hungry people in our country and the starving people throughout the world? What more could we and should we be doing?