When have you been able to make a feast out of just a little bit? Can you think of a time when you didn’t have much, but it became a rich and abundant opportunity? I remember a snack that seemed like a huge meal when some friends and I were backpacking in the Colorado mountains. We had been hiking uphill for a few hours, and finally took a break on a dramatic overlook above tree line. We were ravenous after all that work and trail-mix with crackers and cheese never tasted so good. The amazing view after our climb with good friends made it all even better. I had a different kind of feast last week when I met up with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in person for way too long. As we caught up, talking about our lives, the world and sharing memories, I felt deeply grateful for the richness and connection of our friendship. There are other moments when we find a feast of solitude and rest in a few minutes of silence during a demanding week.
Jesus performs a huge miracle in this week’s gospel, though it begins quite small. As Jesus’ fame has spread, a huge crowd has gathered. After Jesus teases/tests Phillip a bit, they manage to feed thousands with just a few loaves and two fish. There are even baskets and baskets of leftovers. Jesus invites the disciples to play a role in this wonderful miracle that leaves everyone well fed, even though at the start there wasn’t much.
In the hands of God, limited resources become so much more. God is the source of love and compassion, the origin of generosity and forgiveness, the beginning of life itself. What seems small becomes so much more because God is all about transformation. God is all about beginnings that lead to the remarkable. God is constantly bringing abundance out of very little. In God’s hands, new life takes many forms and often begins with barely a hint of how much lies ahead.
Peace,
weekly prayer | Jesus feeds a multitude with only a little in John 6