Multiplied

 This week's Gospel reading is a familiar one.  The loaves and the fishes: John 6:1-15.  We are amazed that five barley loaves and two fish feed 5,000 people, with food left over.  We try to figure this out, wondering if this is a metaphor for the abundance in God's kingdom.

I think that what we are seeing is very real phenomenon, which is that when something is given, it is often more to the person receiving than it is to the person from whom it was given.

I was in the city once and there was a seemingly financially poor woman looking up to Heaven and praying.  She also appeared to be seeking donations to her own personal cause as she had a box at her feet with dollar bills from passers by.  

She was also taking donations into her hand.  So, I handed her some money; I think it was $5.  She made no comment, and kept on praying.

I remember looking back at her and thinking how the money had multiplied in the moment it left my hand and entered hers.  It had been a relatively small amount of money to me, but was very likely much more to her.  In a very real sense, the money had multiplied.

So it is in life.  We have an old jacket which means little to us anymore.  But we give it to someone in need, and it is now a significant item.  You get the idea.

This is what we see in our reading.  Jesus' gifts to us are part of the Kingdom where He and God reside.  These gifts are common to His world, I guess you could say: God's presence, love, joy, and peace.  But when we receive those gifts, they mean so much more to us because we have so much less of these things in our world.

Let us be with God's gifts like those financially poor people who receive a needed item.  Let us look at them, treasure them, and be thankful for them.

Peace be with you.

- The Older Brother