Today's Season of Joy reflection on John 6:1-15 is by John Willig.
To read the full scripture passage, please visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042922.cfm
After we sold our family business, my preference would have been to continue working, but I felt God calling me to get more involved in doing his work.
This gospel reading, of the loaves and the fishes, pretty well summed up my feelings. I have too little to offer and there's too vast a crowd of hungry people that need God's love. Fortunately along the way, I met an incredible nun, Sister Christine, at the St. Vincent de Paul clothing center.
She would say, "You can do it John!"
I found two things are needed: humbleness and faith. Humbleness to let go and allow God to take control, and faith to believe that Jesus could actually use my hands, my mouth, my legs, my smile, my intellect to accomplish things.
Here's a simple example. My job at the clothing center was to sign in every visitor. I was the first point of contact, and one day a gentleman in good physical shape came in, his name was Roger. I felt an inner prompting to pay a little attention to him. I'll call it, you know, God's prompting.
So I asked him if there's anything else he needed besides clothes. As we talked, I found out that Roger had just been released from prison.
I asked how many years. He said, "36 years." I told him that he had come to the right place.
But he said, 'You know, he had no place to stay—no family wanted him around—and no hope of ever getting a job because no one wants to hire an ex-con.'
This wasn't the first time I had heard this so for the several previous months, I had been collecting names of companies that hire people with a record, and I also made the effort to meet several of the owners. I handed Roger the list, circled three companies, then signed my name, saying: "Roger will work hard for you."
So I turned and talked to Roger, I said, "I guarantee they will hire you; one of these companies will hire you." So Roger left with a couple new shirts, some clean underwear, and a renewed faith and hope in the world. He was, simply put, a different man.
Here's another story. Another young man came in, his name was Robert, and he told me that he had had a job interview, but he didn't have any clothes that would be suitable for an interview.
I have found that having a steady job solves a lot of problems in that so many young men and women come from families where this is never discussed.
So I got him a couple of nice white shirts then found out he needed, he needed, pants too. We got him a nice pair of black pants and a nice pair of black leather shoes. His first pair by the way, and it became immediately [clear] also that he could use a tie, but he didn't know how to tie a tie.
We spent the next 20 minutes, I was teaching him how to tie a tie and while we were doing that, I was prompting him with some suggestions on how to ask questions, to show interest, and to just talk a little bit about yourself.
Robert went away very happy, he came back a couple weeks later, but not to get clothes. He came back, asked for me, and he said, "John, I got the job!"
Humbleness and faith.
These are the two secrets of allowing God to use you to feed his people.
And you know, there's a second miracle that occurred in the loaves and the fishes. And that's the people that serve get twelve baskets.
They get an abundance of reward.
God bless you and have a go
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