When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ - Matthew 14:15-18
I find the scriptures an endless treasure, riddle, a mystery and an inspiration. “Bring them here to me.” Bring what? The loaves and the fish? The hungry crowds? Maybe both, probably both, because that gracious invitation into God’s abundance about to be revealed stands in sharp contrast to the setting. It was evening, it was late, it was a deserted place. Time was up, resources were gone, and nothing is possible but to fold up the chairs and turn out the lights.
Here they are, and we along with them, in the wilderness. It is a place of peril and a place of death, but also one where God might just show up. See in the wilderness, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and keep looking. When our eyes tell us that the cupboard is bare, God says to look again. When we start to get concerned that the sun is setting, that it is too late, and there is not going to be enough, Jesus asks that we trust and that we bring to him what we have. Bring to him both the needs of the congregation and the community and bring to him our loaves and fish. Five loaves and two fish, seven gifts from God’s perfectly abundant creation, made for us, given to us, and meant for all of God’s people.
The story of the feeding of the 5,000 men plus women and children says many things but certainly it says that in contrast to the evening of the day, when it is too late and there is too little, God is in the abundance game. In this episode, all are fed and with full bellies, twelve baskets of leftovers remain. That twelve baskets represent the twelve tribes which themselves symbolize the whole community. There is enough for everyone.
He says, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing but ...” Can you hear the contemporary people of God saying something similar? “We used to do _____ but we can’t do that anymore.” “There’s a need over there but we can’t do that because _____.” It is evening, it is late, it is a deserted place. That sounds familiar to me. That sounds like the place where God shows up, and like a risky place that might call for some trust, and a place where something like disbelief might die. Jesus does not ask about what we do not have. He does ask that we see the needs of the world and that we bring those needs and our loaves and fish to him. It is his work to save the world. It is our work to trust and to share what he provides.
I am aware that living conditions are hard for many. Prices are high and rising and incomes for many have not kept pace. Your household expenses have increased and the costs of running this church have increased. Outreach organizations have seen increases in need and in expenses. God asks us in this time to trust in God’s abundance and to continue to “Bring them to me.”
Grace and peace,
Fr. Bill +