Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell: A Little Can Be a Lot.

Today’s Sermon in a Nutshell: A Little Can Be a Lot

The miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand does not begin with an adult: someone of stature; important with prestige and status, ways and means, nor even with someone rich and powerful; it begins with a seemingly insignificant little boy amongst a great crowd of people. A little boy who had a “poor man’s lunch” tucked away upon his person, who instead of keeping it to himself, was inspired to bring it to Christ as an innocent gesture to offer help in a time of need; to “do something,” even if it were deemed too little. But there was a lot contained in that all-too-little gift. 

Five small barley loaves and two tiny fish were certainly not enough to feed so great a crowd (five thousand men, besides woman and children). That’s truly a multitude, to say the least! Yet, this young boy’s small offering was transformed from a “little to a lot” by the power of Christ; Who blessed, broke, and multiplied it to feed and satisfy that entire throng crowed on the side of a mountain, and still have twelve baskets of leftovers. [Note: This miracle becomes a type, a foreshadow, and the words an echo of what will occur at the Last Supper as our Lord institutes the Holy Eucharist.]

God often chooses to use weakness, meekness, and meagerness to showcase His might and power: A young boy toppling a giant with a slingshot; a widow using her last dregs of flour to feed Elijah, only to find that her flour jar became inexhaustible; a poor women offering of her last two pennies at the Temple Treasury; and simple, uneducated fishermen called upon to lead Christ’s Church.

When we make a sacrifice and humbly give God our “all,” even if we might consider it too little or too meager, our Lord is able to take those gifts, multiply them, and use them for His purposes to benefit a greater good.

Fr. John