Offerings

But Jesus said to the Disciples “You give them something to eat”. They said, “we have no more than fives loaves and two fish unless we are to go and buy food for all these people” (Luke 9:13).

            Some time ago, I was talking with a young man who was having difficulty concentrating during Sunday Mass. “Every week I try to focus on what I am doing but my mind starts to think about problems at work or one of my kids begins getting restless and I get distracted”, he stated. I responded by asking him what he thought he offered to God each time he came to Mass. “Not much”, the man answered. “But, what if God thinks the fact you are there with your kids and are attempting to pay attention is enough”, I replied. “Maybe instead of offering God perfection, all you need to give is yourself as you are and He will do the rest”.

            In this passage from Luke, Jesus feeds a crowd of five thousand men with the five loaves and two fish provided by his disciples. By doing so, he demonstrates offerings which may appear inadequate to humans may be sufficient for God.

            The Jewish Law had stringent regulations about offerings made in the Jerusalem Temple. It prohibited the use of blind or deformed animals for use in Ritual Sacrifice. The Law prevented offerings made by Priests who suffered from certain disabilities. In addition, each Priest purified himself from Sin before a Ritual Sacrifice because this action removed any Spiritual flaws from the oblation. These rules highlighted the connection between the effectiveness of an offering and how close it came to perfection. During his Ministry, Jesus changed the emphasis from external to internal factors. It was those things which came from within a person (motivations or values) which influenced his or her relationship with God and the effectiveness of any Religious action. When the Twelve heard Christ’s comment about the hungry crowd, their reply was reasonable. The five loaves and two fish (likely their supper) was an insufficient amount of food for such a large crowd. Yet, they offered it anyway. The apparent inadequacy of their offering, combined with the limited enthusiasm with which they made it was sufficient for Jesus. He fed the crowd with the loaves and fish and there were twelve baskets of food left over. Christ proved there were no limits on what was possible for any offering made to God.

            Our Society places a high value on perfection. Many people spend a great deal of money and time to achieve the “perfect look”. They notice the tiniest flaw in a product and refuse to buy it. These individuals will complain loudly about the slightest inconvenience while being served in a business. This high standard causes many people to feel disappointed when their best effort doesn’t achieve it. While most individuals know it is unlikely they will ever attain perfection in any endeavour, the pressure to do so can be intense. Catholics and other people of Faith struggle with the expectation to be perfect. Sadly, some think God will not love them unless they become Spiritually perfect. Yet, this passage reveals Jesus is comfortable with Human imperfections. He realized the offering made by the Twelve was completely inadequate. But, when it was combined with his power it could do extraordinary things. In the same way, God does not expect those at Mass to always have perfect attention all the time. Christ was Human. He knows how the Human Mind works. It gets distracted easily by thoughts about tensions at work, family problems or past mistakes. Sitting still during Mass is a learned behaviour. Some children have a hard time doing it. Do you think Jesus didn’t have to deal with crying babies while he was Preaching? When we offer to God our true selves, warts and all, our relationship with him grows because it is based on authenticity, one of the most essential qualities he expects from a Disciple. The Mass provides us with an opportunity to encounter Christ in a Material way: we receive his Body and Blood. This Physical contact reminds us he shared our existence with all its imperfection. Every time we join in that Celebration, we offer up our entire selves: our experiences; problems; doubts; limitations; and unite them with him. In return, we receive the reassurance thar what we give him might be imperfect but sufficient and the Graces we need to keep going in a challenging world.

            In this passage, we are reminded that while the world strives for perfection in this life, we can live without it. Jesus accepted his Disciples’ actions even when they were inadequate and he accepts our imperfect offerings. We follow him and not the world because we know perfection is not found in this life but the next one.

June 19, 2022