What Are YOU Doing for Others?

“What are YOU Doing for Others?”

by Andrew Scala, Fiat Ventures

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“What are YOU doing for others?” This was the question posed to everyone this past week, adults and teens alike, at the opening ceremony for the Hartford, CT edition of Catholic Heart Work Camp 2015.  “Not a whole lot,” I replied internally. It was an easy enough question for me to answer, seeing as I hadn’t truly given of myself in a service-related way in years. On the bright side, I knew that I was in the right place to get out of my service slump, even if it had taken me much too long to come around to the idea.

The call to serve is conveniently highlighted in this week’s liturgical journey, both in the readings and the Holy Gospel According to John. In the first reading, we are dropped off into the interaction between an unnamed man and Elisha. This man had brought 20 barley loaves to Elisha to be given to a group of 100, but greatly doubted its ability to feed this amount of people. Elisha insisted, “Thus says the LORD, they shall eat and there shall be some left over.” This man’s self-perceived small act of service was in fact much greater in magnitude than he realized.

In the second reading, our journey takes us to St. Paul’s jail cell as he pens a letter to the Ephesians. He connects the thread of service to an obvious place as he states, “As you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” It is a humble reminder that whatever our call is, it only becomes audible to us through God, and as a result of our faith in him.

The final stop on our biblical tour is from the words of John, an apostle and eyewitness to the miracle of Loaves & Fishes. Here Jesus turns one boy’s 5 loaves of Barley bread and 2 fish into a feast of food capable of feeding the 5000 that were gathered. The message here is quite clear: Though our service may appear small and insignificant, the effects of our actions of service are far-reaching and awesome.

This weekend’s readings suggest that the service aspect of our faith is incredibly important due to its effect on others, and also on our own faith journey. Just imagine how the faith of the boy who supplied the loaves and fishes grew after the miracle, or how the faith of the unnamed man was transformed after his donation of loaves?

On the last day of Catholic Heart Work Camp, we had the opportunity to hear from the homeowners and employees whose homes and businesses were transformed as a result of our service.  I no longer have to imagine how the man and boy felt, I get it. As we left Connecticut, the opening day question disappeared and manifested itself as a statement of fact: “Look at what we have done for others!” This is the true power of service, and I challenge all of you to seek answers, through your own service, to the question “What are you doing for others?”