Our gospel reading this weekend is one of the best-known stories from the scriptures. In fact, it’s the only miracle that is described in all four Gospels, and that’s because it is packed with so much meaning. In fact, Mark recalls this story twice in his short gospel. With the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes we not only see God’s gracious and loving care for us, for those in need, but we also find a challenge to be open to the world of possibilities, rather than being trapped by our own limited expectations and sense of reality. In every version of this event, Jesus’ desire to feed the crowd is met with hesitation and resistance from the disciples. Jesus is told that it would be impossible, that there was no hope in finding enough resources or supplies to feed the crowd. The limited view of the disciples was simply misguided. After having had spent so much time with Jesus, seeing him cure the sick, raise the dead, and touch the lives of so many people, they still had difficulty being open to the world of possibilities. When we look at all the problems in our world and in our own communities, it is so easy to lose hope. We see war and famine, inequality and cruelty, violence and hatred abound. It is easy to lose hope, to feel like we are helpless or can only make an insignificant difference. But with Jesus, we are not limited to our own vision, or own power. When it comes to being a better person; when it comes to healing relationships; when it comes to doing better at our job, our diet, our marriage or relationships, raising our children or listening to our parents; when it comes to helping to make our city a better city, our parish a better parish, our school a better school; when it comes to caring for the poor, helping to build a peaceful world, we can do amazing things with God’s help. We are not expected to solve all the world’s problems alone, but rather, we are called to cooperate with God’s call to love, to serve, and to trust. My friends, our faith is not measured by the success we have but rather by our willingness to get up when we fall short, to continue moving forward despite the obstacles we face, trusting that God is with us and with God, nothing is beyond our reach. May God bless you and your loved ones today, tomorrow, and forever more.