The Grace of Abundance

We are told, “ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7). In my new position as assistant principal, I find myself more than ever reliant on the hard work and willingness of others in order to carry out my responsibilities. I am frequently asking students, faculty, staff, and fellow administrators for assistance and support, and I am often met with creative thinking, persistent willingness, and bold action. The experience is humbling. Today’s Gospel about the multiplication of the loaves and the fish reminds me that my experience is one of grace - the grace of abundance.

This is grace: in the scriptures today, Jesus, “moved with pity,” responds to the cries of the hungry crowd by asking those among him to share the food they have. The response is paltry. And yet, when he begins to distribute the food, there is plenty for all, leaving much more in excess than what was there at the beginning. Some have interpreted this as a sign of God’s supernatural power, intervening by mysteriously replicating the amount of food present at the beginning. My experience in my job, however, offers me a different interpretation that resonates with the story on a deeper level.

Imagine you are a member of this hungry crowd, but unlike the people who have no food, you have a loaf of bread and some fish stashed away in your satchel. You recognize that there are hungry people around you, but you are responsible for feeding your family and are fearful that if you begin to share, you will not have enough for you family. You see Jesus, and you see what happens: Jesus is “moved with pity,” and you hear his request for food to be shared. But because of your fear of scarcity, you do not respond (and perhaps you feel a bit guilty). You watch instead as a few generous souls share what they have. You see Jesus break the bread and divide up the food and begin to share it. As you watch, your fear that there will not be enough food is almost confirmed, but as he moves through the crowd you notice that the amount of food that is present is not diminishing; it seems to be growing! Then, you notice something out of the corner of your eye. Every now and again, someone in the crowd slyly places some bread or a fish in one of the baskets. You feel your heart soften, and as Jesus approaches you, you decide to share some of what you have with the crowd. By the end, once everyone has eaten and taken what they might need for later, you realize that there is still an abundance of food left…enough for several baskets!

The grace present in this imaginative retelling is not one of a magical miracle worker conjuring things that were not originally present. Instead, grace moves through the hearts of the crowd as they experience the same compassion (a better translation than ‘pity’) that Jesus experienced in the face of the suffering of others. This perfectly describes the grace I recognize in my day-to-day life in my new position. In my desire to respond to the needs of students, faculty, staff, and administration, I find that my compassion is shared by others who are willing to work alongside me in fulfilling our mission at this institution. It reminds me that the baskets of God’s grace are vast and bottomless, and that reminder brings me great joy and solace.

Author: Daniel Dion, Asst. Principal of Student Affairs