Three insights came to me in the gospel passage appointed for today. Perhaps others have your name on them. The first for me is the need for retreat. Matthew tells us, “Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” From time to time, if we want to strengthen our relationship with the Lord, it is important for us to withdraw to some place to be alone with God, to focus all our time and attention on the Lord, opening ourselves to whatever God has prepared for us. We tend to get so consumed by the daily busyness of life that there is little space in our lives for just being with God. If Jesus needed to withdraw to a deserted place by himself, how much more do we need to separate ourselves for a time from all the things that distract our attention from God, just to rest in God’s presence, to allow ourselves to be surrounded by God’s grace and to be filled with God’s love.

My second insight is that interruptions, no matter how distracting from my original intention, may be opportunities for me to be God’s hands and feet in the here and now. Discernment is needed, of course, but God may be calling me to share what I have been given with others. That was Jesus’ view. Jesus put aside his need for retreat and spent the day curing the sick that were brought to him. It seems to me that taking a cue from Jesus and looking at the interruption through the eyes of compassion, rather than frustration and irritability, may be the key to recognizing such a call.

The third insight for me is that we can trust God to provide what is needed in our ministries. Common sense and logic would certainly say that five small barley loaves and two small fish (Jn.6:9) would not begin to feed more than 5000 folks. No hostess in her right mind would try to feed even five people with so little. But Jesus took what he had, “looked up to heaven,” and trusted God to feed the hungry people. When we take what we have been given and look to God for whatever is lacking, God provides just what we need, when we need it, to do the job he has called us to do.

What other insights come to you in this gospel lesson?