Doing the Impossible

“A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people to eat.’ But his servant objected, ‘How can I set this before a hundred people?’ Elisha insisted, ‘Give it to the people to eat.
For thus says the LORD, ‘they shall eat and there shall be some left over.’  And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said.”  (2 Kings 4:42-44)

I think most of us are familiar with the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves in today’s gospel. It is the only miracle story that is found in all four of the gospels. But today was the first time that I realized that there was a similar story in the Old Testament. That is one of the things that I love about scripture, every time we read it or listen to it, God touches our hearts. That is why it is so important to meditate on scripture daily, so that we can hear God speaking to us and then discern his will for us.

The miracle story in today’s first reading is another reminder that God always provides. Elisha’s servant questioned how these few barley loaves were going to feed all the people just as Philip questioned Jesus. But Elisha remembered God’s promise and trusted him completely. The words that struck me today were, “twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits.”  Anytime we give to the Lord our first fruits, he will always increase their worth, sometimes even a hundred-fold (or more). The priest in his homily gave a perfect example of this. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, started with nothing. She had no money, no food and no supplies when she began her work caring for the poorest of the poor. She had to beg for everything and trust that God would provide what was needed through the generosity of others. The Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, which she started, now has more than 4500 members, located in 697 communities around the world in 133 countries.

If we open our eyes we can see so many examples of the impossible becoming possible. And if we open our hearts to God, he will use us to make the impossible happen. Miracles are not a thing of the past that only Jesus performed, miracles happen each and every day through God’s divine intervention. He promised to always be here with us and to always provide what we need.