ENOUGH IN GOD’S HANDS
Isaiah’s vision of a banquet—rich food, aged wine, tears wiped away—feels like a dream of Michelin Star fine dining in a world that often settles for fast-food fare. Instead of leaving us empty, unsatisfied, and overwhelmed, this heavenly banquet reveals God’s heart: lavish, tender, and attentive. In this way, abundance is not just about quantity—it’s about quality, care, and detail. Every element whispers dignity and delight.
In today’s Gospel, that promise takes flesh. Jesus sees the crowd, hungry and fragile, and says simply, “I do not want to send them away hungry.” Seven loaves, a few fish—hardly enough for thousands. And yet, in God’s hands, scarcity becomes abundance. God takes the little we have and makes it enough! But abundance here isn’t about the amount of food on the table—it’s about transforming what seems ordinary into something extraordinary. It’s about surrendering what we have and trusting that God can do something beautiful with it. I find myself drawn to that image, yet I wonder: do I live as if this promise is true? Or do I cling to the fear that there will never be enough? That I may not be enough? So often I feel my offering is too small—my time, my energy, my faith. But maybe the miracle begins when I stop measuring and start trusting.
Today’s scripture unsettles me in a good way. It asks: where am I holding back because I think it’s not enough? Where am I invited to place my crumbs in God’s hands and watch them become an exquisite meal? On this feast of St. Francis Xavier, let’s remember that God multiplied his small beginnings into a mission that touched the world. Perhaps the same grace is waiting for us.
What “little” in my life—my gifts, my time, my hope—might God be waiting to multiply? God of abundance, take what feels small in me and make it enough. Teach me to trust your hands more than my fear of scarcity.
Radmar Jao, SJ
Photo credit: Luxury Gold