Meditation for August 20, 2008

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

John 6:3-14

 

3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.  4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.  5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?"  6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.  7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little."  8 One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.  But what are they among so many people?"  10  Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.  11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost."  13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  14 When the people saw the sign that had been done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

 

Lessons and Reminders From the Feeding of the 5000

 

We talked about this scripture at the St. Ambrose Vestry (our church's board of directors) meeting last night.  There is so much here!  If you get quiet with this passage for just a few minutes, you will find that it just keeps feeding you, just as the crowd was fed that day on the mountainside.  Here is some of what we talked about last night, and some other things that we didn't talk about:

 

We often view life through a lens of scarcity.  But there are always resources, and when we begin to share them amazing things begin to happen.  A key figure in this story, according to John, is the boy who offered to share his five loaves and two fish.  Probably this was his dinner.  Our Senior Warden said something like this last night:  "There were undoubtedly other people there with food, too.  Instead of holding on to what they had, and saying, 'This is mine, and only for me,' they all began to share what they had, and there was plenty of food for everyone."  When I was living and working in Dominica, I was always amazed by the generosity of the people there, who seemingly had so little.  There was one family with 10 or 12 children - there were so many children running around I always forget how many they had.  I used to think, "How do they even feed this family every day?"  And yet, every single time I went to their house, no matter what time of day it was, I was offered a meal.  "Pete, sit down; have some food!"  I used to try to show up at some time when I knew no one was eating.  My strategy never worked.  Something was left over from the previous meal, or something was being prepared for the next meal.  And sometimes I would sit there and eat by myself, eating what was put in front of me.  One time I tried to protest, and all I succeeded in doing was giving offense.  They wanted to be generous.  It was in their very blood, in their soul, in their very character.  I learned to shut my mouth and be grateful.  I also learned something about generosity.  And I learned that we always - always - have something to give.  You think rising food and gas prices are making it too tough for you to give something?  Think again.  Think about the young boy who shared his dinner.  Probably he inspired all those around him to do the same thing.  Think about the family with many children in a different country, and how they always find something to give to a stranger who suddenly shows up on their doorstep.  Think about these people, be inspired, and remember that God has blessed you with resources, too, and the ability to share them.  They're not just for you.  They're not even "yours", truth be told.  You are only a steward of what God has given you.  These resources have only been given to you so that you can learn something about sharing, learn something about being generous, as God is generous.

 

A few other thoughts on this scripture...

 

Did the miracle have to do with Jesus "multiplying the loaves and fish" - that is, did Jesus do something that counteracted the laws of nature - or was the main difference between Jesus and the others his faith - his perceiving what could (and did) happen, when most or all of those around him saw limits, saw boundaries, saw impossibilities?

 

Sometimes, when we don't understand or don't know what to do (isn't that a lot of the time?), we just need to take the first step.  It seems to me that is what Andrew did.  He said to Jesus, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.  But what are they among so many people?" (verse 9)  Andrew clearly had his doubts about the situation they faced.  But he still said something to Jesus.  Probably he recognized that Jesus would take note of the the five loaves and the two fish and see the situation in a different way, and do something - something that Andrew couldn't do, because he couldn't imagine it.  But Andrew didn't think to himself, as I might have, "I'm not going to say anything about this boy and his dinner.  I'll just look ridiculous."  He spoke up.  He took a step.  And then Jesus led him - and the other disciples - through the next steps, beginning with:  "Make the people sit down."  (What a practical step!)  And things went on from there.  Sometimes we get too overwhelmed by thinking that we have to move from A to Z.  Just make a step from A to B - and trust God to keep leading you.  Remember:  Jesus promised to be with us always!

 

Let it not be lost on us that Jesus took the loaves and - before he distributed them - he gave thanks to God.  It seems to me that we cannot overdo giving thanks to God.  A huge chunk of worship has to do with giving thanks.  A huge chunk of prayer has to do with giving thanks.  We have so many opportunities each day to give thanks.  Do we make the most of them?  Do you want to grow in faith?  There are lots of ways to do that.  One is to practice giving thanks.  You can't give thanks without acknowledging the presence and love of God.  Jesus modeled this for us.  We are reminded of this every Sunday.  "On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, "Take, eat:  This is my Body, which is given for you.  Do this for the remembrance of me." (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 362) Similarly with the cup of wine.  He gave thanks to God for that, too.  Jesus was about to be arrested, flogged, spit upon, and killed.  Still he gave thanks to God.

 

Another member of the Vestry commented on the crowd being satisfied (verse 12).  Maybe they only had a little bit to eat, but they were satisfied.  They were satisfied spiritually, as much as anything, he said.  Amen to that.  Sometimes I wonder if the word "satisfied" even registers in our culture today.  More often, the words of The Rolling Stones are ringing in our ears.  "I can't get no satisfaction!"  We are told, in all sorts of ways, that we should never be satisfied.  More like - be insatiable.  And yet, on this day, we are told that a huge crowd of people was satisfied. Imagine that!  I do think it had something to do with Jesus being there, and with the way they all came together to share what they had with each other.

 

Finally, ponder this:  "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." (verse 12)  I don't think Jesus is talking about loaves and fish here.  He's talking about people.  God deeply cares for each one of us - everyone who feels lost in a crowd, everyone who feels lost spiritually, everyone who feels lonely, isolated, or overlooked - which is every one of us, at one time or another.  Jesus says to me and to you, "I have not overlooked you.  You are mine.  I love you.  You are my beloved child.  As far as I am concerned, no one will remain lost."

 

We could go on and on pondering this passage from John 6.  I have already gone on too long.  There is plenty of spiritual food here.  You are welcome to keep chewing on this passage, obviously.  For now, let us give thanks to God for his Holy Word, generously given to us, and for the fact that it leads us to the Living Word, Jesus Christ, who sustains us spiritually, in ways that bread and fish cannot.