Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Initiating the Faith Through Sharing
Rev. V.M. Mathew
Youth Chaplain,
Northeast Region
9 “There is a boy here who
has five barley loaves and two fish."
John’s gospel gives more details about the miracle of the feeding of five thousand when compared to the other gospels. The most important among them is the presence of a little boy who offered the five loaves and two fish. Andrew, the disciple of Jesus found this boy among the crowd with a meal box, which he must have brought from his home to have as his own meal.
We are living in an individualistic society where people believe in the principle, "mine is mine and yours is yours". Most of the people in our society are self sufficient and they don’t need anyone’s help and in such a society the importance of sharing is least emphasized. The feeding of this huge crowd was a result of the "sharing" this little boy was able to do. Jesus could have created the food from nothing, but He chose to use this shared food for the feeding of this huge crowd. This emphasizes the importance of sharing in Christian lives. If we are able to share then we will not have abundance and accumulation but instead it will benefit many others. We are a sacramental community where we share the "body and blood" to remember the great sharing that God almighty did of His own son for the world. This little boy was ready to share what he had for the others. This is the model in front of us.
In this sharing there was pain and sacrifice. Today even if we share, we share from our abundance which doesn't give us pain when sharing. When this boy shared from the scarcity, he must have realized he would feel the pain of hunger, but he was willing to do that. That painful sharing resulted in the feeding of everyone who was in need and it also satisfied the hunger of this little boy.
"Do something" is a new mission initiative of the youth fellowship of the North East Region. Our youth are going to a New York City shelter to spend one day every month among the homeless people to share their time, resources, talents and love to the people who are denied love and care. They are serving around three hundred brothers and sisters every month.
Do we have pain when we give? Is there any sacrifice involved in our giving?
Through His life, Jesus sets a model for life and establishes that sharing is the way of eternal life. Let us adopt this model to show the love and way of Jesus.
John’s gospel gives more details about the miracle of the feeding of five thousand when compared to the other gospels. The most important among them is the presence of a little boy who offered the five loaves and two fish. Andrew, the disciple of Jesus found this boy among the crowd with a meal box, which he must have brought from his home to have as his own meal.
We are living in an individualistic society where people believe in the principle, "mine is mine and yours is yours". Most of the people in our society are self sufficient and they don’t need anyone’s help and in such a society the importance of sharing is least emphasized. The feeding of this huge crowd was a result of the "sharing" this little boy was able to do. Jesus could have created the food from nothing, but He chose to use this shared food for the feeding of this huge crowd. This emphasizes the importance of sharing in Christian lives. If we are able to share then we will not have abundance and accumulation but instead it will benefit many others. We are a sacramental community where we share the "body and blood" to remember the great sharing that God almighty did of His own son for the world. This little boy was ready to share what he had for the others. This is the model in front of us.
In this sharing there was pain and sacrifice. Today even if we share, we share from our abundance which doesn't give us pain when sharing. When this boy shared from the scarcity, he must have realized he would feel the pain of hunger, but he was willing to do that. That painful sharing resulted in the feeding of everyone who was in need and it also satisfied the hunger of this little boy.
"Do something" is a new mission initiative of the youth fellowship of the North East Region. Our youth are going to a New York City shelter to spend one day every month among the homeless people to share their time, resources, talents and love to the people who are denied love and care. They are serving around three hundred brothers and sisters every month.
Do we have pain when we give? Is there any sacrifice involved in our giving?
Through His life, Jesus sets a model for life and establishes that sharing is the way of eternal life. Let us adopt this model to show the love and way of Jesus.
PRAYER
Almighty God, we thank
you for everything that we have and everything that we are. Give us the grace
to share for your glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
Do something to share ourselves and share the love of Christ.
Do something to share ourselves and share the love of Christ.