Giving Jesus our five loaves and two fish!

Hello again!  I am going to try to post a blog a week here at Catholic Metal.  This weeks blog is a little was a little late due to a stomach bug that I am getting over, but hopefully from here on I’ll be more regular.

 

I wanted to share a story from scripture that I have found very consoling in my own pursuit of making Catholic music.  And I hope that it also can provide some consolation to you whether you make Catholic music or serve the Church in another capacity.

 

The story is very familiar to most of us; it is the story of the multiplication of loaves and fish.  Here is an account from the Gospel of John (6:5-15):

 

5 Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’

6 He said this only to put Philip to the test; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would not buy enough to give them a little piece each.’

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said,

9 ‘Here is a small boy with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that among so many?’

10 Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down.

11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting there; he then did the same with the fish, distributing as much as they wanted.

12 When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted.’

13 So they picked them up and filled twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.

14 Seeing the sign that he had done, the people said, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

15 Jesus, as he realised they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, fled back to the hills alone.
 

This was truly a miracle and a testament of Jesus’ power!  He fed 5,000 men (not counting any women and children) from just five loaves and two fish.  Truly, this must be the Son of God!  I know that many of us may have heard this story several times over our life.  I still am in awe of how Jesus performed this miracle.

 

But there is a supertle detail to the multiplication that I find quite consoling and illuminating.  John’s account particularly shows how Jesus knew what was going to happen and that the situation was always within His control.  However, Jesus did not materialize loaves and fish from nothing.  He began the multiplication with bread and fish.  So who gave them to Jesus?

 

Of course, it was the small boy!  He had the five loaves and the two fish.  But in order for Jesus to feed the 5,000 (plus some), the small boy had to give his loaves and fish to Jesus.  It did not seem like a lot of food and definitely was not enough to feed the thousands of people.  But the boy gave what little food he did have to Jesus, despite the insignificance, for Him to dispose of as He wished.  I believe that the 5,000 were fed due to this minor offering of bread and fish to Jesus.  I won’t say that Jesus wouldn’t have fed the 5,000 if the boy did not give his bread and fish, but I will say that before Jesus multiplied the bread and fish he needed the boy to give Him the five loaves and two fish.

 

Now, we have our own versions of loaves and fish that we can give to God.  God created all of us with unique talents and gifts.  Our gifts and talents Jesus can use for the salvation of souls in our world, our Church, and our families.  All we need to do is give to Jesus what we have.  Through Jesus, our talents can be amplified or multiplied to reach more souls, but we have to give Him what we have.

 

If you are like me, you may look at what you have and it may seem “insignificant”.  Personally, I know of people that are tremendously more materially blessed than me, people that are tremendously more talented than me, and people that are tons more charismatic than me.  It would be a lot easier for Jesus to use THOSE people because they already have more than what I have.  But Jesus does not call us to give Him more than the next person; He calls us to give Him what we do have.  I look at the boy that gave the bread and fish to Jesus and know that is all I have to do.  All I have to do is give what talents and gifts that I have to Jesus.  The rest is up to Him.

 

And that is exactly what it means to be a co-worker with Jesus.  We are called to do our part but we have to trust in Jesus afterwards.  He will use us in His plan, no matter how insignificant our part may seem.  The truth is we may never know the true extent of what our good efforts bring.  We may write lyrics and make holy music and not see any recognition of our efforts.  Simply know that you are doing what you can for God and that He will handle the rest.

 

For us Catholic Metal heads this means that we need to not be afraid to step forward and be bold about our faith.  Even if that means that you only make music in the basement and not in front of thousands of fans.  Even if you can only write lyrics or if you can only play an instrument; offer all that you do to God.  Give to God what gifts you do have and He will in turn use those gifts for the salvation of souls.  Even if you only see the fruits of your work in heaven.

 

Know that what is given to Jesus will be used for the good of everyone.  If we do nothing more than give our talents to God and in turn Catholic metal becomes an obscurity, I know that it is for God’s greater glory.  We do not do Catholic Metal to be famous, to make money, or influence others.  We do Catholic Metal because we want to glorify God and give to Him our five loaves and two fish.