BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
(17th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Problems are part of life. How we approach problems is what matters. The Gospel reading for the 17th Sunday (John 6:1-15) presents a problem. The problem is this. There was a huge crowd in a deserted place. They were hungry. There was no way to get enough food to feed them. Jesus, however, said to his disciple to give them something to eat. A challenging situation! Two disciples approached this situation differently. The way they responded to it tells us a lot about ourselves too.

PART OF THE PROBLEM!
One of the disciples, Philip panicked. He thought Jesus was crazy. He said: “How do we get enough food for 5ooo people in the Desert? Let them go.” A totally negative, uninterested and disappointed response! He did not want to get involve. He even made it bigger by his attitude. He became part of the problem.

PART OF THE SOLUTION!
Andrew, another disciple, had a different approach. Even though he found the problem challenging, he did two important things. First, he looked around to find a way out. His effort yielded a result. He found a boy with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. Secondly he led the boy to Jesus. A miracle happened. He became part of the solution.

There is a big contrast between these two approaches. Philip tried to solve the problem by himself. It is not possible to solve everything by oneself. We need to resort to the help of others. Ours is not an isolated existence but a shared one. No one can solve all the problems alone. We need others. It is equally important to turn to God. Nothing is in short supply with God. In his hands everything multiplies. Andrew realized this.

A HELPING HAND!
It is not enough to turn to others and God to solve all the problems, we need to do our part too। The boy played a crucial role in solving the problem. He was willing to share. The result of sharing was a miracle.

Our surplus is not ours. It belongs to the needy. God has provided the world with more than what is needed. He has shared everything with us. He even shared His Son. He needs our cooperation. In a certain sense, He has only whatever we offer back to Him.

What may happen if we are unwilling to share? I shall never forget this little incident. In the monastery, I was in charge of the orchard. All kinds of fruit trees were growing there. The main attraction of that particular season was a mango tree. It had only two branches. Both branches produced more fruits than each branch could support. Children started to come by and eventually they started to pluck the mangos. Because of this, we had to hire a watchman to keep the children away and protect the mangos. One morning when I came to the orchard, I could not believe my eyes. Both branches were broken and were lying on the ground. The mangos were also scattered on the ground. Apparently, the weight of the mangos was too much for the branches to support.

God is so generous. He comes to us every day with so many blessings. If we do not share them, these very blessings will become the cause of our destruction. The rich man, in the story about Lazarus in the Bible, was punished not because of his wealth, but because of his unwillingness to share. Alone we are helpless but together we are strong. Togetherness must start with me. We are called to be part of the solution.