A LITTLE BREAD

A LITTLE BREAD

I live in Zambia and every day I pass a pile of garbage on my walk and every day I wonder what I can do about it. Children play close by and the road is littered with discarded plastic bottles flattened to the ground but resolutely refusing to decay. I am reminded of Pope Francis’ description of our precious planet becoming a “heap of filth” with all the industrial and domestic waste piled high on every continent. But what can I do?

Today’s readings are about the five barley loaves and two fish and Andrew’s question, “What are they between so many?” The estimate was five thousand people. Jesus was not bothered by the small contribution. So long as there was something he could work with it.

Reading the pope’s letter on the environment is an alarming exercise. The task seems so great and the danger of failure so real. The small efforts of individuals seem so ineffectual.

But I am struck by the picture of the 5000 sitting on the grass. It is all a bit solemn. We are told Jesus “climbed the hill,” which echoes Moses climbing Mount Sinai, and that it was the Passover, the most important festival of the Jews. Then we are told Jesus “looked up and saw the crowds approaching.” It is as formal a setting as you can get: the Messiah meeting God’s people. What will happen? What message will he have? What offering can they make?

Well, all they can come up with is a small boy with five loaves and two fish. A widow’s mite! A paltry effort! But it is enough. It is a majestic moment where the Lord accepts the offering and feeds a multitude. It is a sign that would be remembered. All four writers record it. They knew it had immense significance. The smallest efforts, the most insignificant of gestures, can open a new world. God is coming to meet his people.

But it is only the beginning. The rest of John chapter six will speak of other bread, something that has the power – not just to feed a crowd for a day – but to nourish humanity for eternity. Again it will require that small offering, this time just a corner of my heart; it requires some movement towards the Son of Man, the human one. The solemn setting suggests this is a meeting between God and men and women of every age: a God who beckons and invites us to make gestures of caring and love towards one another and towards “our common home,” the earth.   

As we progress through chapter six we see that most of them turn away. They cannot take what he is talking about. And that goes on happening today. But the invitation remains and so does the question, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?” Jesus asks for our help.

26 July 2015                                       Sunday 17 B

2 Kings 4:42-44                                  Ephesians 4:1-6                      John 6:1-15