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Gospel: Mark 6: 34-44
When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
He said to them in reply,
“Give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?”
He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out they said,
“Five loaves and two fish.”
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A young girl was walking with her father along a beach the morning after a terrible storm blew through, leaving thousands of starfish strewn across the sand.
Suddenly, the girl let go of her father’s hand, walked to the water’s edge and began tossing the starfish back into the sea, one by one.
After several minutes, the father walked over to her and said, “Okay, sweetie, it’s time to go home.”
“But dad,” she said, “all of these starfish will die if we leave them here in the sun!”
“You can’t save them all,” he said. “Saving a few won’t make much of a difference.”
The girl, looking saddened, stood still for a moment. Then she bent over, picked up a starfish, tossed it back into the sea, and said:
“Well, for that one, I just made ALL the difference!”
***
Sometimes when we see the big picture, we can get overwhelmed.
A beach strewn with starfish; a single priest ministering to thousands; a couple bringing home newborn twins; a loved one struggling with mental health; a spouse diagnosed with a terminal illness; an unrelenting job; a parish in need of renewal; a world tainted by war.
Or, in today’s Gospel, a massive crowd with seemingly no food and empty stomachs.
“Dismiss them,” the disciples say to Jesus. Let them fend for themselves.
Like that father seeing a beach covered in starfish, the disciples feel helpless. So, Jesus teaches them about the power of one, commanding them to share what little food they have tucked inside their pockets with a neighbor.
Ready or not, dinner will be served.
Somehow, by sunset everyone is fed. There is even food left over!
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So, what might this mean for us?
Whenever we feel overwhelmed, either by our own circumstances or by the world at large, remember the power of one.
Save a starfish. Break open a loaf. Do what you can, leave the rest to God. Somehow, it’s always enough.
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Image credits: (1) Heralds of the Gospel Magazine (2) LinkedIn (3) The Starfish Foundation