Choosing miracles
Do you ever hear some miracle of Jesus and wonder “Why that one?” Why heal that person when there are so many? Why walk on the water that time and not the other times? Why turn water into wine at one wedding party? That could have been a great side hustle!
On Sunday we will hear the feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of John. (Click here to read it.) Why this? Why now? No doubt Jesus had plenty of opportunities to miraculously feed hungry people.
They all saw the supplies available: 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. Fine for one or two people out for the day. But laughable up against 5,000 hungry people (actually, probably at least double that, as they typically would have counted only the adult men). But Jesus proposes a 2 step solution. First, give thanks to God for what is available (rather than whining about what is not). Second, start sharing. The picture does not seem to be that the basket suddenly began overflowing with bread and fish. We’re not even told the mechanics of how the extra food appeared! We only learn that when they began to share, it was enough.
Don’t oversimplify this. It is not a promise that you should pass your corn dog around the crowd at the county fair and it will be enough. The truth is more challenging than that.
Jesus is moving the disciples from a mindset of scarcity, in which I take care of myself, to a mindset of abundance, in which I care for others. Have you ever stopped to consider the amount of food that goes to waste everyday? I haven’t worked out the math, but I am confident that this planet produces enough food to every every person adequately, even abundantly. But that means we each have to step beyond making sure that I have what I want to making sure that we all have enough.
And don’t forget that abundance is not primarily about things! The things that are truly abundant and that only multiply when shared are love, grace, forgiveness, hope and Jesus!
So if the feeding of the 5,000 is intended to reveal to us a God of abundance, how do we learn to see, celebrate and share abundance? Where might there be more abundance in your life than you currently enjoy?
This column appeared in the July 25, 2021 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
