Miracle of the Loaves? Or a miracle of talents?

I have been meaning to write this up for over a year and keep putting if off, mainly because I do not want to make BonaResponds a religious organization, but since it has been on my "to-do list" for so long, I will at least make an attempt at things.

This is largely from the late Fr. Bob Stewart. (the Bob of Bob's Woods). It is from a sermon he gave at St. Bonas (Little Bonas) in Allegany only a couple of months before his death from cancer in 2001. He was talking about the Miracle of the Loaves (or fishes if you so desire).

Rather than talking about the arithmetic needed to feed several thousand people with only a handful of fish and bread, or the physical miracle of making the fish and loaves REALLY big, he suggested the real miracle was one of cooperation: all of the people who were there suddenly became willing to share what they had with others and as a result there was enough food for everyone. Thus the little food that each of the thousand of people had (in many cases hidden) grew into a feast of biblical proportions (literally!).

While BY NO MEANS a bible scholar, I doubt very much that the gospel writers were talking about only food in mind when they wrote this parable. The same idea can be applied to many things, but most importantly for us, volunteering. We all have talents that can be shared with others.

And while volunteering to use these talents may not make as exciting of story as multiplying fish, it is definitely something we can all do. Be it in the Gulf, in the next disaster zone, or in our own neighborhoods, helping others can be miraculous!