The miracle of sharing

This morning in my devotions I read the story of the miracle of the feeding of 5,000 people by Jesus. As I read the story I began to think about the child who offered Jesus their five loaves and two fishes. Out of all the thousands of people present, do we dare to imagine that this young child was the only one carrying any food with them? I highly doubt it. This was not a time when people would travel the land lightly upon the assumption that along their way they would come across a kerb-side vendor selling snacks and drinks. No, when people travelled they took food and drink with them. They had to. This was a simple matter of survival. So when I think of this child offering Jesus his food, I don't imagine that this was the only food anyone had.

As I thought about this I began to wonder what Jesus was trying to teach people? I can't believe the record of this event was intended to preserve the idea that we can venture out irresponsibly, without any provisions, and imagine that God will provide for us in the middle of nowhere. That does not resonate at all with any of Jesus' teaching. Instead, I began to think about Luke 4 and the moment Jesus read from Isaiah in the synagogue:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)

The context of this reading is the Jewish Jubilee, which was meant to be a time when debts were forgiven and land was restored to those who originally owned it. It was a correction of injustices, and a redistribution of wealth in order to restore the impoverished. For me, the feeding of the 5,000 makes sense in the context of Jubilee. It also makes sense of the actions of the child and Jesus' commendation of them.

Imagine... Jesus asks the disciples to give the people something to eat - a normal act of hospitality for the time. Their response? How can we (emphasis here on "we"), give them something to eat? They are thinking only of themselves. What does Jesus do? He asks if anyone has food. Of course, they do, but the only person willing to "show their hand" (or share), is a young child who gives Jesus all they have. So Jesus takes the food, gives thanks for it, and then starts to distribute it. What do you think happened next? What is the lesson Jesus is trying to teach those who want to follow him? I imagine it is in the same vein as what he told the rich young ruler: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21).

Redistribution, because "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3)