"God helps those..."

“God helps those who help themselves”, says the Bible, right?

Of course, such verse is not in the Scriptures.  And many object attributing to God something that God may have never said.

And yet, as you read today’s Gospel story, one cannot but wonder that at the end of the day, the miracle was done through the doing. 

And perhaps it is to highlight such lesson that this miracle is the only one included in all the four gospels.

At the event, the disciples are asked –

Can you see what you have?  Check

Can you share what you have?  Check

Can you do beyond your best efforts?  Check –

       And now let me do MY thing.

St David’s has never been a program-sized, multi-staffed church with hundreds or thousands of members.  St David’s had good leaders and some who were not good as expected.  Finances?  Sometimes good enough and at other times, not enough. 

Over the years, St David’s grew in attendance but also decreased.  Or it has remained stable.  Looking at the register, one can notice a pattern of flows and ebbs in attendance and in membership. 

And in like many other churches, if everybody were to turn up in church in any given Sunday, the pews would be overflowing!

In fact, let me suggest, if there is any phase in the cycle of life of a church, St David’s has gone over all of them.

But, through generations, there is another pattern that should be noticed.  It is the pattern that today’s Gospel illustrates so well.

God has remained not only faithful to St David’s but also has been gracious enough to multiply the prayers, the work, and money way beyond our expectations.

Crowds arriving by the busload?  Hundreds of kids having their dreams fulfilled – year over year!  Many, many at one time or another have found themselves in St David’s and struggled with not finding what they expected to find but, like Jacob in our first lesson, they never left without a blessing.

So, let me suggest that, indeed, God helps those who help themselves.

But not in the way the saying is often used.  Not as if God were to stand waiting for us to prove that we are organized enough, wealthy enough, or faithful enough before grace is shown.  That is not the Gospel.  That is not the God revealed in Jesus Christ.

Rather, God helps those who bring what they have, even when what they have is small in the face of the need.  That’s grace.

In the gospel’s story, before there was enough bread, before the solution was visible, before anyone could explain how the thing was going to play out, Jesus encouraged his disciples to make room for abundance.  Even when the disciples were still thinking in scarcity.

And perhaps that is what faithful churches – like St David’s – have always done at their best.  They make room for God.

So, we set tables with imperfect hands.  We welcome visitors without knowing if they are ever going to show up again.  We pray and, like St Paul, we may even anguish for the welfare for others even if prayer is the only thing we can offer.  We offer whatever little we have and we trust that Jesus can bless it, break it, and multiply it beyond any expectations.

So, when we look at St David’s, we do not need to pretend that there are no limitations.  We do not need to dress up the numbers or exaggerate the resources.  

The disciples did not imagine five thousand people were only fifty.  They saw not only the need of the people but their own need.  And then they placed those limits into the hands of Jesus.

And that may be one of the most sacred things we can do – Not to shy away from our limitations.  And yet be willing and trusting to offer what we have – anyway.

We don’t need to be apologetic in saying, “Here we are.  This is our worship, this is our ministry, this is our building, this is our history, this is our hope, this is our love and this is our desire to serve.”

For some – and even at times even for us, it may not seem enough.  St David’s may not seem like a great Cathedral, but nevertheless here is our bread, here is our catch.   Lord, here it is, take it.  

So yes, God helps.  God helps when we show up.  God helps when we offer what we have, as little as it can be.  God helps when we dare to make room for abundance when all we can see is scarcity.  God helps when we place our loaves and fish, our prayers and pledges, our past and our future, into the hands of Jesus.

And when Christ takes what we offer, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it away, there is enough – and then some.  And there will be enough because even if it is us who are called to do the heavy lifting, God will take it from there.  And so, there will be more than enough.

Now, let me finish with this thought.  What I said about St David’s, it applies to any and all of us, at a personal level.  We may not have the time, or the money, or the voice, or the wisdom, or the gifts we think we may need to be seen “successful” and be “recognized.”

But if we are willing to offer the smallest morsel of ourselves in good faith, God will take it from there.  And even if we cannot measure the morsel we are offering, God knows, God will take it, God will use it and God will multiply it.

How come you may ask.  And here is the answer and the good news for all of us.  Because, as David sings in Psalm 145,

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,

The Lord is loving to everyone

and his kindness is over all his works.

Thanks be to God!  So, my friends, go in peace to love and serve the Lord!  And don’t be shy!

Fr. Gustavo