Today the first letter of John reminds us that it is God who has loved us first. God sent his Son to us in love to save us from our sins and lead us to be with God forever. God invites us to spend this time on earth as a response to this love.

Yet loving others is not easy. It involves sacrifice; it often means taking a risk. The apostles do not understand how they are to feed so many people. Their resources seem too few.

In the end, however, they decide to trust and listen to Jesus. In Jesus' hands, the limited gifts they have at the time - five loaves and two fishes - become more than enough to feed the people. They discover that the love of God is generous, it is greater than what they can imagine.

The needs of our world can seem daunting. Can things truly change for the better? We are called to believe that it is God who has loved us first. It is God's love that will change our world, our society, our family and our lives. We are invited to take a risk, to offer our limited time, abilities and prayers to God and to let God work through them.