Today’s author is Prince of Peace’s Director of Congregational Care & Visitation, Debbie Jorgens.
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” (Matt. 14:15-18).
In preparation for writing the trio of devotions this week, I have read Matthew’s account of the feeding of the five thousand several times. And as I’ve reflected on this text (Matt. 14:13-21), the words that keep coming to mind are these: “You give them something to eat.” Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll give them something to eat,” or even “We’ll give them something to eat.” No. He says, “You give them something to eat.”
I would love to have seen the expressions on the disciples’ faces when they heard these words! Did they look bewildered? Skeptical? Or, as I imagine I would have looked if Jesus had directed these words at me: panicked? I enjoy feeding a houseful of guests, given enough time to plan the menu, shop for groceries, and do the cooking. But I can tell you that if 5,000 hungry people showed up in the park behind our house, and without any warning at all Jesus told me and 11 of my closest friends that we were responsible for feeding them, I would be at a complete loss!
But Jesus’s mandate to the disciples is clear: they are to feed the people. So they must have breathed a huge, collective sigh of relief when they realized that Jesus wasn’t leaving them to figure out this monumental endeavor on their own. Rather, he directs the disciples to bring the five loaves of bread and two fish to him. And lo and behold, after Jesus blesses what the disciples believed to be a woefully inadequate amount of food for the task at hand, there is suddenly more than enough for everyone!
Jesus’s mandate to the first disciples is his mandate to his disciples today, as well. We are responsible for feeding the hungry – and for helping those who are in any kind of need. It feels overwhelming at times. But thankfully, we don’t have to perform miracles. We don’t even have to have all the answers. We just need to do what we can with the resources we have, trusting that somehow God will use us and the gifts we offer to make possible that which we could never have even imagined.
Loving God: When we fear that what we have to offer is too little to make a positive difference in the world, remind us that with you, all things are possible. Amen.