To Divide and Multiply: A Reflection on the Loaves and Fishes

"To divide and multiply" by Tami Urcia (CatholicMom.com)

Freeimages.com (2006), CC0 Public Domain[/caption] When I was a child, my dad often listened to gospel music while he did projects around the house. Tunes by Canaan, Don Francisco and GLAD often wafted through the air, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, I came to memorize the lyrics. One I find myself singing to this day was called “Break Me.” It spoke of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, one of my favorite Bible stories.

“Break me Lord, as you broke the bread and fish there by the sea. Take what little I can offer, multiply it, Lord, for Thee. Break me Lord, break me.”

These words speak to me in two distinct ways: A call to multiply and a call to divide. A Call to Multiply: When we allow our lives to be driven by God, even our feeble attempts at virtue can be used by Him for the good. If we spend an afternoon at a soup kitchen, perhaps another person or two will decide to follow our example and do the same. (Or if you’re like me and have a little brood, my decision to go, and take the kids with me, is already multiplying.) Perhaps you are asked to give a talk at a church. You speak only once, yet it falls on the ears of many and the positive message is multiplied. Even letting someone go in front of you in the dreadfully long grocery line does not go unseen and may inspire others to perform a random act of kindness as well. A Call to Divide: “Break me Lord, break me.” I see broken people all around me. Broken by an estranged child, a death in the family, financial distress, mental health issues that cause one misunderstanding after another … but what does it truly mean to be broken by God? To be spiritually broken? I may be over-simplifying, but it helps me to compare it to breaking in a horse. Breaking it of its wildness and willfulness so it obeys and moves as directed. Is it so different with me? If God breaks apart and divides my vices, my excuses and my complaints, He can conquer them one by one and win me over for His Kingdom.