“Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 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.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”  Matthew 14:13-21

“I remember…leaving the publisher’s office afterwards and running into somebody in the building whom I had known slightly at college. He was working as a messenger boy, he told me. I was, as I thought, on the brink of fame and fortune. But instead of feeling any pride or sense of superior accomplishment by the comparison, I remember a great and unheralded rush of something like sadness, almost like shame. I had been very lucky, and he had not been very lucky, and the pleasure that I might have taken in what had happened to me was all but lost in the realization that nothing comparable, as far as I could see, had happened to him. I wanted to say something or do something to make it up to him, but I had no idea how or what and ended up saying nothing of any consequence at all, least of all anything about the contract that I had just signed. We simply said goodbye in the lobby, he going his way and I mine, and that was that. All I can say now is that something small but unforgettable happened inside me as the result of that chance meeting—some small flickering out of the truth that, in the long run, there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all…” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

“…there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all…”

The story of the feeding of the 5000, and the feeding of the 4000, are stories about abundance. From just five loaves and two fish, Jesus feeds 5000 men, plus women and children — or as should be said, he fed everyone. Where does the abundance come from? It comes from Jesus of course. And they come through the hands of the disciples who are willing to partake in the miracle.

Skeptics of this story say “Oh it is just hyperbole, a myth, story, a fabrication.” Oh, really? If this was just a story, why are we still telling it 2000 years later? And not just repeating a story written 2000 years ago, but a story that was first told and shared by mouth from generation to generation, person to person, household to household before it was finally written down and put into any kind of book. If this story is a fabrication, it wouldn’t have had enough gas to last for two millennia. Just like the man from our story who mistakenly put gas in the wrong vehicle, perhaps the skeptics are mistaken in understanding the parable – that the story is not about “How Jesus did it”, but about “How Jesus’ Disciples trusted enough to listen to his instruction.”

More importantly everyone was fed – and there was still some left over. There was joy for all – no one was left out. Perhaps this is the most important aspect we take from this miracle – Jesus has enough abundance, enough joy for everyone. Miracles are always possible – we just need to trust Jesus and listen to his instruction.

Pastor Dave