God’s providence and our little contribution

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“HE said to them, ‘There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.’ But they said to him, ‘Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.’ Then he said, ‘Bring them here to me,’ and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.” (Mt 14,16-19)

And so the story goes that led to the great astonishment of Christ’s disciples when at the end, in spite of what little the disciples contributed in the feeding of the people, there was a great amount of excess of the bread—12 baskets full—that was given to the crowd that followed Christ.

This gospel episode simply shows us that God always provides for our needs, no matter how helpless we may be in certain situations in our life. We should just trust in God’s almighty providence even as we do our part in resolving whatever problems and predicaments we can find ourselves in.

In this regard, Christ himself reassures us with these words: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Mt 6,26)

And he continues: “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Mt 6,28-30)

Yes, with a little help from us, the full wonder of God’s grace and providence would be revealed to us. This was articulated by Christ himself during the multiplication of the bread.

It is very moving to realize that what God is asking of us is actually very little in comparison to what he will be giving and doing for us. Another gospel episode that highlights this point is that of the miraculous catch of fish. (cfr. Lk 5,1-11)

Christ asked Peter to go to the deep and lower the nets for a catch. Peter at first was hesitant because he was fishing the previous night and caught nothing. But to Peter’s credit, he just obeyed Christ. And lo and behold, Peter caught such a large quantity of fish that he had to ask help to bring the enormous catch of fish to the shore.

It is indeed very reassuring that this is actually what happens in our relationship with God. All that we need to do are just the little duties we have, and God’s grace will come to us in abundance.

We simply have to do things in good faith, in obedience to God’s will, though sometimes God’s will would require extraordinary effort and sacrifice. But then again, whatever investment we have to give, even if in our own estimation it is already quite sizable, is nothing compared to what God will give us in return.

Corresponding to God’s will in our own small way is the highest yielding investment we can make. Let us remember that God can never be outdone in generosity. Christ himself said: “Whoever has (referring to one’s faith and trust in God) will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mt 13,12)

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

God’s providence and our needs and limitations

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          IF there’s anything we can learn from that beautiful gospel

episode of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cfr. Mt

15,29-37), it surely is that God will always provide for our needs and

limitations. He will, in fact, do everything to snatch us from the

worst evil that can happen to us through the most effective and wise

redemptive work of Christ.

          God always provides for our needs. He is a very

compassionate God who cannot tolerate to see people suffer. That

gospel story has a very happy, uplifting ending.

          And yet, if I may, we can ask the question—that if God is

that compassionate and generous, then why is there so much suffering,

poverty and misery around? It would even look like God is completely

indifferent to this sad condition worldwide. It would look like many

people are left to rot in their miserable condition.

          The answer, of course, is that, yes, God is always

compassionate. He cannot tolerate seeing people suffer. He will always

provide for all our needs. He even went to the extent of becoming man

in Christ who had to offer his life to attain the greatest need of

mankind—our salvation. With that supreme act of compassion and

generosity freely done, what other need do we have that would not be

taken care of by God?

          The truth is that God has provided us with everything. From

our life with all its natural endowments to the air and water, to the

abundant food from plants and animals and other resources, he has

given them all for us to use and to live with the dignity of being

children of God.

          The problem is that we do not know how to manage them, how

to care and help one another. There is so much indifference and

self-indulgence, the germs that would develop into a worldwide

pandemic of social injustice and inequality.

          And when we are faced with our limitations and a state of

helplessness, we should just be ready for them and know not only how

to deal with them but also how to derive something good from them. In

these instances of the hard predicaments, for example, when we seem to

be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does,

after we have done all things possible to solve our problems.

          We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to

learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we

have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for

us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we

are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our

way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death

on the cross.

          Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can

also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious

messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a

theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react

to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings

and on worldly trends.

          In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always

go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and

his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions

appears unanswered, if not, contradicted.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com