How much ... do you have?

Matthew 15:29-37 

Jesus now returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat there. And a vast crowd brought him their lame, blind, maimed, and those who couldn’t speak, and many others, and laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.What a spectacle it was! Those who hadn’t been able to say a word before were talking excitedly, and those with missing arms and legs had new ones; the crippled were walking and jumping around, and those who had been blind were gazing about them! The crowds just marveled and praised the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I pity these people—they’ve been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don’t want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road.” The disciples replied, “And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?” Jesus asked them, “How much food do you have?” And they replied, “Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!” Then Jesus told all of the people to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd. And everyone ate until full—four thousand men besides the women and children! And afterwards, when the scraps were picked up, there were seven basketfuls left over!


Food for thought!

Someone once remarked: There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. The miracle in today's gospel is all about attitude.

Did you notice what Jesus did? He first noted: "I pity these people—they’ve been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don’t want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road." Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them. Jesus had a positive attitude; he gave thanks for the little there was. He did not do like the disciples: "And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?" This is poor attitude at its worst. Unfortunately, many of us operate like the disciples: we see only the negative side of things.

The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude. We cannot change our past; we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way towards us. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude. Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react to what happens to us.

There is always something beautiful to be found, right where you are, if you will look for it with a positive attitude. This is what Jesus did to work the miracle: Jesus asked, "How much food do you have?" Like Jesus, have a positive attitude of things because this this positive, loving attitude of mind will help you perceive the presence of God active in your life regardless of what is happening.

"But how does this positive attitude really work?" you may ask. The only way to prove it to yourself is to give it a good try and see what happens. Practice waking up each day with an inherent expectation of good and with a wonderful feeling of thanksgiving for life itself. Your days will be filled with exciting adventures. Expect the good, and good will come your way; if you expect evil, evil will hasten to meet you. That is why St. Paul advices us: “Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others.” (Philippians 4:8).