Why Our Work Is Like The Loaves and Fishes
Our work is like the loaves and fishes. You remember how Jesus fed thousands with just a few fishes and loaves of bread, right? I just read the stories again when I was reading Scripture one morning before leaving for work. (You try to spend a few minutes reading Scripture during the day - preferably in the morning - don't you?)
The Gospels (all of them) tell us how at the end of a day where Jesus had preached to a large crowd, his Apostles suggested He send the people away so they could find something to eat. Jesus tells the Apostles to feed the crowd. They respond that they don't have enough food to feed so many.
Then Jesus tells them to take up whatever they find among the people. Someone had a few loaves of bread and some fishes and Jesus, in one of his most spectacular miracles, turns these few bits of food into enough to feed thousands.
You and I know that Jesus didn't really need those loaves and fishes. He could have just fed everyone starting from nothing if He wanted to. But He didn't. Why is that?
This particular morning, I pictured myself as the guy with the loaves and fishes. I imagined one of the Apostles, let's say Andrew, coming up to me and telling me the Master asked if I would hand over what I had. What would I have done? Naturally, I wonder whether I would have just given up my own precious food, or resisted, or given it up grudgingly, or maybe given some of it and keeping some for me. What would you have done?
Anyway, I then thought about what this whole marvelous scene means to Catholic men at work.
You see, whatever we do every day, no matter what our work consists of, no matter what the particular task of the day, if we do our work for God's greater glory, we're helping God do His work. Really - not just in some symbolic way.
It's just like the guy with the loaves and fishes. That little bit of food fed thousands when it was given to the hands of Our Lord. And our little bit of work, placed in God's hands by our intentions during the day, will, in the same way, feed thousands.
How do we "feed" others in our work. I mean, we're not all in the catering or restaurant business, I would guess. But we feed the world by our work everyday nonetheless.
It starts with the obvious. We work to provide a certain sufficiency for our families. Maybe we use any surplus we earn to provide something for others - you know, works of charity.
But it goes beyond that. God sustains the world every second of every day. And by giving over our work to him, by consciously working for His greater glory, our labor becomes the loaves and fishes that he uses in His great work of Creation and the sustaining of His creation.
So instead of just feeding the thousands out of nothing, Jesus chose to use the food that someone else already had as a kind of starter kit. I think He wanted to show us that what we have, and what we do, will accomplish great things in His hands.
This is great news, isn't it? After all, not everyone's the President of the United States, or some big shot in a corporation, or a wealthy business owner who makes tons of money. Most of us work at a job and earn just about enough to feed our families - with maybe a little bit left over at the end of the day. Maybe we've got so little left over that we can't even - no matter how much we'd like to - give what we'd like to worthy causes. We've got just enough to feed and sustain our families.
Or maybe we think that whatever we do is really not all that important.
But no matter how small or insignificant you think your work is, especially this particular bit of work on this particular day - like today - you should know that with a simple thought, a simple prayer, you can put that effort into Jesus' hands. All you have to do is think or say something like "All for you Lord" or something like that. It doesn't even have to be anything elaborate. Heck, you probably don't have the time in the middle of a busy day to say much more than that anyway. (I sure don't most days.)
But when you do, you'll know that, sure enough, Jesus will just go ahead and use your efforts as part of His own daily work of feeding and sustaining the rest of us. So, please, do it. We could all use your help!
The Gospels (all of them) tell us how at the end of a day where Jesus had preached to a large crowd, his Apostles suggested He send the people away so they could find something to eat. Jesus tells the Apostles to feed the crowd. They respond that they don't have enough food to feed so many.
Then Jesus tells them to take up whatever they find among the people. Someone had a few loaves of bread and some fishes and Jesus, in one of his most spectacular miracles, turns these few bits of food into enough to feed thousands.
You and I know that Jesus didn't really need those loaves and fishes. He could have just fed everyone starting from nothing if He wanted to. But He didn't. Why is that?
This particular morning, I pictured myself as the guy with the loaves and fishes. I imagined one of the Apostles, let's say Andrew, coming up to me and telling me the Master asked if I would hand over what I had. What would I have done? Naturally, I wonder whether I would have just given up my own precious food, or resisted, or given it up grudgingly, or maybe given some of it and keeping some for me. What would you have done?
Anyway, I then thought about what this whole marvelous scene means to Catholic men at work.
You see, whatever we do every day, no matter what our work consists of, no matter what the particular task of the day, if we do our work for God's greater glory, we're helping God do His work. Really - not just in some symbolic way.
It's just like the guy with the loaves and fishes. That little bit of food fed thousands when it was given to the hands of Our Lord. And our little bit of work, placed in God's hands by our intentions during the day, will, in the same way, feed thousands.
How do we "feed" others in our work. I mean, we're not all in the catering or restaurant business, I would guess. But we feed the world by our work everyday nonetheless.
It starts with the obvious. We work to provide a certain sufficiency for our families. Maybe we use any surplus we earn to provide something for others - you know, works of charity.
But it goes beyond that. God sustains the world every second of every day. And by giving over our work to him, by consciously working for His greater glory, our labor becomes the loaves and fishes that he uses in His great work of Creation and the sustaining of His creation.
So instead of just feeding the thousands out of nothing, Jesus chose to use the food that someone else already had as a kind of starter kit. I think He wanted to show us that what we have, and what we do, will accomplish great things in His hands.
This is great news, isn't it? After all, not everyone's the President of the United States, or some big shot in a corporation, or a wealthy business owner who makes tons of money. Most of us work at a job and earn just about enough to feed our families - with maybe a little bit left over at the end of the day. Maybe we've got so little left over that we can't even - no matter how much we'd like to - give what we'd like to worthy causes. We've got just enough to feed and sustain our families.
Or maybe we think that whatever we do is really not all that important.
But no matter how small or insignificant you think your work is, especially this particular bit of work on this particular day - like today - you should know that with a simple thought, a simple prayer, you can put that effort into Jesus' hands. All you have to do is think or say something like "All for you Lord" or something like that. It doesn't even have to be anything elaborate. Heck, you probably don't have the time in the middle of a busy day to say much more than that anyway. (I sure don't most days.)
But when you do, you'll know that, sure enough, Jesus will just go ahead and use your efforts as part of His own daily work of feeding and sustaining the rest of us. So, please, do it. We could all use your help!
Comments