Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
In life, we will sometimes be placed in circumstances where we simply do not feel up to the task. We are reasonable. We know our limitations. We know what we can and can't do. Jesus, in today's gospel, forces us to rethink our sense of limitation. When the disciples ask Jesus to dismiss the crowds so that they can go find themselves something to eat, Jesus responds, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves."
The look on their faces must have been priceless. They respond citing their limited resources: five loaves and two fish. Jesus takes the little they have and everyone is fed in an abundant feast.
It is good and healthy to know and to recognize our limitations, but we must watch out for closing ourselves off from new experiences because we "know'' that we won't be able to succeed. This approach will make our limitations a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Is there something new and good you haven't dared to do because of your perceived limitations? Perhaps today would be the day to look into that.
When we act in a spirit of love and generosity, Jesus takes the little that we have and makes with it a feast of which we won't see the end.