Transformation

August 2, 2020 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Readings for Today

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.  They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full.  Matthew 14:19b-20 Do you ever feel as though you have little to offer?  Or that you cannot make an impact in this world?  At times, we may all dream of being someone “important” with great influence so as to do “great things.”  But the fact of the matter is that you can do great things with the “little” you have to offer. Today’s Gospel passage reveals that God was able to take something very small, five loaves of bread and two fish, and transform them into enough food to feed tens of thousands of people (“Five thousand men, not counting women and children.” Matthew 14:21) This story is not only a miracle for the purpose of providing the necessary food for the crowd who came to listen to Jesus in a deserted place, it’s also a sign to us of the power of God to transform our daily offerings into exponential blessings for the world. Our goal must not be to determine what we want God to do with our offering; rather, our goal must be to make the offering of all we are and all we have and leave the transformation to God.  Sometimes our offering may seem small.  It may seem like what we offer will have no benefit.  For example, making an offering to God of our mundane daily chores or the like may seem unfruitful.  What can God do with this?  The same question could have been asked by those with the loaves and fishes.  But look what Jesus did with them! We must daily trust that everything we offer to God, whether it appears to be great or small, will be used by God in an exponential way.  Though we may not see the good fruits like those in this story did, we can be certain that the good fruit will be abundant. Reflect, today, upon every small offering you can make.  Small sacrifices, small acts of love, acts of forgiveness, small acts of service, etc., have immeasurable value.  Make the offering today and leave the rest to God. Lord, I give to You my day and every small action of this day.  I give You my love, my service, my work, my thoughts, my frustrations and everything else I encounter.  Please take these small offerings and transform them into grace for Your glory.  Jesus, I trust in You.