Calculations of Love!

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

1 Jn 4:7-10; Mk 6:34-44

Today’s Gospel highlights the miraculous power of love and compassion at work in Jesus’ mission.  

Jesus’ power is witnessed when he makes a startling proposal of feeding the five thousand-plus crowd that has been with him for days. 

It is inspiring to see that when Jesus is moved with pity for the crowd, he thinks of doing the impossible for them. 

Moreover, we decipher the impossibility of Jesus’ proposal from the words of the apostles who look incredulous about it. 

Also, the greatness of the number shows that such a thing as Jesus’ proposal is unheard of. For a people who were used to Elisha’s feeding of 100 in the wilderness (2 Kgs 4:42-44), fifty times the same number is something unthinkable given the circumstances. 

However, what the disciples forget is that Jesus’ proposal does not arise out of rational calculations but out of his love and compassion for the needy humanity.

Jesus also proves that even the seemingly impossible things are possible for love to achieve.

Here, Jesus teaches the importance of thinking from our hearts because a mind that is lost in logic thinks only of the limitations in the name of caution, but a heart that employs love feels for the human need and acts from a sensible responsibility despite the hurdles involved. 

As such, we learn from today’s Gospel the art of thinking like Jesus. 

Let us pray that we may possess the mind of Christ and excel in our calculations of love. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar