Why does God ask us to do anything? This might seem like an odd
question, but the Gospel passage we contemplate here, the miracle of the
feeding of the 5,000, certainly raises the issue. When the apostles bring the
problem of the hungry crowd to Jesus, the Gospel tells us that “he himself knew
what he was going to do.” He already has everything under control and needs no
help to feed the crowds. If he wanted to, Christ could have produced bread out
of nothing rather than multiply the little that was at hand and offered. So why
does he use the five loaves and two fish? If he doesn’t really need the help,
what is the point?
We can sometimes ask the same question in our own spiritual
lives. If we cannot live a good Christian life without the help of grace, if faith,
hope and love come from God rather than from us, then wouldn’t it be better for
us to become totally passive and have God do all the work? Wouldn’t it be more
efficient for God to transform us in holiness all on his own, without the
hindrance of our often inconstant, often ineffective and always imperfect
attempts at goodness? There are certainly some Christians, most famously Martin
Luther, who believed in this way, teaching that our efforts and works are not
capable of producing any good fruit, and that admitting our hopeless state and
surrendering to grace alone is the only way forward for believers.
And yet, the Gospel gives witness that Jesus solicits help. He
involves the disciples in perceiving the need for a miracle and leads them to
ask for it. He includes the offering of all five loaves and both fish, even
though he could have used only one of each, or even nothing, to feed his hungry
followers. This also is consistent with the way God acts in the rest of the
Scriptures. In the Old Testament, he worked signs and wonders against Egypt
through Moses. He did not need Moses’ help to liberate Israel, but he chose to
work through his frail humanity. In the story of Gideon, God does in fact
conquer the enemies of Israel without anyone raising a sword at all, and yet, he
demands that the army of Gideon be present to act while he himself provides the
miracle.
The truth is that God delights in including us in his work, and he
seeks not only to save us by defending and providing for us, but also by perfecting
us from within. God created us because he wanted us to exist and to exist well.
He made us simply so that we could enjoy his company, and he could delight in
us. He does not save us out of some bare obligation or obsessive need to
purify, but out of joy and love. Thus, he does not simply cover our sins with
grace and do all the work himself, but takes us up into his works, even though
it isn’t necessary, raising us to be more and more like him. As the best of all
parents, he does not simply want to see us obedient for the sake of duty, but
wants us to be with him in everything, loving him in well-formed freedom, with
an understanding of the beauty of his ways and commandments, having been made
strong by his help. By offering him everything we have, our gifts, talents,
works, struggles and difficulties, we allow him into our lives where he longs
to work together with us in bringing about wonders of abundant divine
transformation.
Fr. Rampino is parochial vicar of Queen of Apostles
Church in Alexandria.
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