When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.' Jesus replied, 'There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.' But they answered, 'All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.' So he said, 'Bring them here to me.' He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps left over, twelve baskets full. Now about five thousand men had eaten, to say nothing of women and children.
The story has been told an infinite number of times: the feeding of the five thousand. (Of course we know that there were many more than five thousand, because women and children often outnumber men, right?) It is a story that often makes it into the most elementary Bible story books, and it captivates, still, the most sophisticated scholar.
In a miracle, the result is tangible, but the process leading to the end defies rational explanation. The end result does not align with the initial conditions or components. The solution is characterized by abundant goodness, the problem is fraught with seemingly insurmountable challenges.
I can think of numerous current situations that are begging for a miraculous resolution, can't you? War, hunger, drought, pollution, human madness, natural disasters. Now, remember: We each and all are invited to participate in Christ's miracles today.
What happens when we identify a need in our midst? Do we send those in need away because we think our resources are limited (and therefore we need to conserve them for our own use?) Or do we embrace the cause of need and offer what we have to the possibility of a miracle?
Here is a hard truth: When we gather all that we have for our own use, our focus is myopic, narrow, defined by the the limits of what we have. When we bring all we have to Christ and offer it to the mission before us, our focus rests upon the needs of others and how all we have can be used (in and by Christ) to reveal a miracle. Furthermore, we know that ultimately our deepest needs will continue to be met.
After all.... in our story today (reread it if you want!) the disciples were a part of the crowd that was fed to fullness, right?
image source: http://ecojustice.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/loaves-and-fishes.jpg
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