June 3

Feeding the 5,000

            As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late;  send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.”  But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.  And all ate and were filled;  and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Mark 6:34-44

         

             The disciples were running on fumes.  They had just returned from a short-term missions project where they preached and they healed and they cast out demons and saw miracles.  They returned to Jesus full of excitement and passion, but they were so very, very tired.  Jesus saw their fatigue and invited them to come away with Him to a quiet and remote place so that they could rest and reflect and prepare themselves for the next season of their ministry.  The disciples happily agreed and they all got into their boats to sail to the other side of the lake for some much needed down time.

            However when the boat reached the other side they found that this was not a quiet and isolated place.  The crowds saw where they were headed and they ran across the land in order to meet Jesus there.  The disciples came ashore to the sounds of laughing and crying and yelling.  Children were running around, the sick were being carried and there were thousands of people who needed to talk to Jesus immediately.  This was not rest; this was chaos.  The disciples wanted to send the crowd away but Jesus looked at them and His heart filled with compassion.  These people were not evil…they were simply sheep who were trying to survive and find their way without a shepherd.  So He healed and He taught throughout the day.  Evening came and the disciples again wanted to send the crowd away.  There was no food out here and the people had a long walk ahead of them.

            Jesus turned to the disciples.  “You give them something to eat,” He said.  Impossible!  The disciples only had enough food for a simple meal for themselves.  The five loaves and two fish would divide amongst Jesus and the disciples so that they would each get about a third of a loaf of bread with a nice chunk of fish to accompany it.  It would not be a feast, but it would suffice for a simple meal.  If they were to take what they had and divide it among the people everyone would only get small crumbs.  The crowd would still be hungry and the disciples would starve with them.  It would be a waste of resources to share their food with the masses.  Jesus should just send the people away.

            Jesus collected their supplies.  He blessed the food.  He broke the food.  He fed thousands upon thousands and had twelve baskets of bread and fish left over.  The disciples now had more than they could eat.

            Parenting can often feel like we are in the disciples’ shoes.  We are bone-tired from the work that we have been doing.  We barely have enough resource to cover ourselves.  It could be time.  It could be money.  It could be patience.  It could be food.  We have just enough energy to make it to the end of the day…and then something comes up.  A friend needs something.  The church needs something.  Our kids need something.  It is easy to feel like the disciples.  If we give away the rest of what we have, it will make no difference for others and we will be left empty and starving.

            Jesus’ invitation is to give Him what we so tightly cling to.  Allow Him to bless it.  Allow Him to multiply it.  Allow Him to give us back more than we can imagine.  Allow Him to turn our scarcity into abundance.  That does not mean that we should just give away everything that we have any time that we can.  The disciples did not come ashore, throw their food at the crowd and then turn to Jesus expectantly.  We are to listen for God’s voice; listen for His invitation and then give Him what He asks for in the way that He asks for it.  If God asks for the last of what we have, it is often to multiply it and use it to bless both the world and us at the same time.

            It is hard to let go of our last dollar, our last moments of free time, our last ounce of emotional energy.  But if we hear Jesus and give Him what He asks for, He can transform our meager snack into an extravagant feast.

A moment to reflect:

What is Jesus asking you to give to Him?