Two solutions
James Cathcart
August 12, 2023
Add to Favourites
Listen to this daily worship
Matthew 14: 13-21 (NRSVA)
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 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.’ 16 Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ 17 They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ 18 And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
The crowd are hungry. They need to get something to eat. It’s been a long day.
The disciples suggest that the people disperse, spread out, forage.
Jesus instead invites them to stay, to get closer together, to share.
What can we learn from this contrast and then apply to how we produce enough food for our world?
PRAYER:
Dear Jesus,
help us to follow your example
in finding solutions that unite
rather than separate
that round up rather than down
that embrace the unexpected
that take into account surprise and wonder.
We ask you to interrupt our terrible wrong-headed plans,
but also our sensible, practical ones that are not generous enough
to make us question
how and why
we do what we do.
Help us open the door to compassion
and find a wedge big enough
we need not keep opening and shutting it.
Amen.
Login to comment.