The Miracles in Which He Calls Us to Help

Prayer-Soldier

The Miracles in Which He Calls Us to Help

Scripture:

And a certain man came from Baalsalisa bringing to the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty leaves of barley, and new corn in his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat. And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they may eat: for thus says the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left. So he set it before them: and they ate, and there was left according to the word of the Lord.
(2 Kings 4:42-44)

I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.
(Ephesians 4:1-6)

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes, and seen that a very great multitude comes to him, he said to Philip: Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

And this he said to try him; for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him: There is a boy here that has five barley loaves, and two fishes; but what are these among so many? Then Jesus said: Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand.

And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost. They gathered up therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above to them that had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: This is of a truth the prophet, that is to come into the world. Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force, and make him king, fled again into the mountain himself alone.
(John 6:1-15)

Reflection:

As we look at the miracles of the Bible, we might be tempted to ask, ?But what does this have to do with me, for such needs and deeds are beyond me to address?? We are tempted to believe many tasks are beyond our means, therefore, there is nothing we can really do; therefore, nothing comes from us. We allow ourselves to become mere bystanders.

If we look closer, though, we should see that God often engages our participation to set His miracles in motion or to further their reach. Though His intervention is unmistakable, we must observe He often calls for us to lend our helping hands. He wants us to participate in His works.

We might ask instead, ?How might what is before us an opportunity to help set the works of God in motion? How might the works in motion be an opportunity for us to help with the work of our Lord? How might we lend a helping hand to extend the blessings of God to another??

We have the choice to simply observe and wait for the work of God, or we can respond to His call to use the gifts and talents He has placed within our control. What we may contribute may appear meager, it may seem too little; but as one helping hand is extended, we set in motion the opportunity for our hands to be joined by those of another.

At times, we may be frustrated, wondering, where is the helping hand of God? We ask, why does He allow this? In such moments, we often fail to look at our own hands and what God may enable us to do. If we offer ourselves selflessly to Him, we might be surprised at what He may bring forth through us. The question, then, for us all, is will we move forward to our own desires or will we move forward in faith that God will enable us to do His work?

It was from the hands of a boy that five barley loaves and two fish were received. The bread was broken to be shared, along with the fish. Hands carried the fragments to those who reclined. The multitude was nourished and hands, once more, were called to gather the fragments left over so that nothing should go to waste. When all was done, twelve wicker baskets were filled. A miracle was performed, indeed, but a miracle which also passed through many hands; hands which responded to the call and instructions of our Lord and Savior.

The bread did not simply appear in the hands of those who were hungry. Instead, a meager portion was brought forward by little hands. After the blessings of the Son of God, what was given was passed to the hands of others to distribute and a multitude was fed. In the moment of the miracle, we may see the hand of God, but let us not forget the many hands to which He called and instructed to assist in the moment.

The accomplishments of charity and caring hands are not always seen as miracles, for they are well within our means, but did not Jesus tell us the works we might perform if we had faith? (cf. John 14:12) If we look, we might observe the many ways the will of God is set in motion through small beginnings. Let us, then, pray and ask for the guidance of the Lord. Let us pray and ask God to help us see the ways we may extend our hands to help one another so that His will may be done. Let us move forward with faith to help care for one another and share the blessings of love which God desires for us. (cf. Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 25:31-46)

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways do we lament in hopelessness that the help which is needed is beyond our means?

In what ways may we listen for the instruction of God so we may do His will?

In what ways may we join our gifts with those of others so we may participate in the works of God?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier