Today's Daily Lesson is from Mark 6 verse 38:
"And he said to them, 'How many loaves do you have? Go and see.'"
The Feeding of the 5,000.
On one level this is the story of what Jesus the miracle chef can cook up with next to nothing. But to read it that way, to make it all about what Jesus can do with nothing is to miss the deeper and more piercing point the story is trying to make - that Jesus can do a little with a little, but it has to be our little that he does it with.
There is a multitude of people - 5,000 according to the scriptures, and that wasn't even counting women and children some traditions say. They are hungry and the hour is late and the disciples fear the crowd will become agitated and perhaps even riot. So the disciples ask Jesus to dismiss the crowd so the people can go and buy food before its too late. But Jesus says to them, "You give them something to eat.” The disciples are incredulous. Twelve guys foot the bill for 5,000 people? "Where are we to get the money to buy food for a crowd this large?" they ask. And then Jesus asks the question of them he also asks of us, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
Do you see what is going on? The disciples see scarcity while Jesus sees abundance. The disciples are asking about buying and Jesus is asking about giving. The disciples are thinking about the people's need to fend for themselves, but Jesus is thinking of the disciples need to share with others. In other words, the disciples think about what should be hoarded for personal consumption in a world of scarcity, but Jesus sees what can be taken and blessed and broken and given in order to turn that world of scarcity into a world of abundance.
It's a miracle story indeed. But it's a miracle story with a sharp and piercing edge. It's not just about the 5,000, it's also about the 12. And it's also about you and me and what God can do through us when we have the courage to think of the common good and not just our own.
So, how many loaves do you have? Go and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment