A long-standing tradition in a lot of church communities is the shared lunch. Many of us will remember halls full of people with long tables overflowing with casseroles, sandwiches, and homemade pies, pasties and sausage rolls, followed by delicious cakes, slices and cream-filled desserts. They were times when people would connect, talk about their lives and grow in their relationships as strong and vibrant faith communities.
There was always plenty of food at these shared lunches and no-one went hungry. It might be hard for us, then, to imagine what it would be like to be at a gathering of God’s people where there wasn’t an abundance of food. What do you think it would be like to gather with others who shared our faith, to dedicate a full day to listening to God’s word and hearing great teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, but to have nothing to eat at the end of it?
One story which is included in all four gospels is the feeding of the five thousand. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell us that about five thousand men, not including women and children, had gathered to listen to Jesus teach them about the Kingdom of Heaven. The day passed by more quickly than anyone expected and they found themselves at the end of the day with the sun going down, a long way from any shops and nothing to eat.
When the disciples pointed the problem out to Jesus, he did something unexpected and told them to feed the crowds (Matthew 14:16). They responded that all they had was five loaves of bread and two fish (v17). From a human perspective, this does not seem like enough food to feed so many people. Jesus’ instructions to give this small amount of food out to so many people can seem like a pretty pointless exercise.
We can imagine a few reasons why the disciples might have been reluctant to give the five loaves and two fish to the crowds. People can often tend to think of ourselves first and others second, so giving the food away to others and risk going hungry ourselves doesn’t make a lot of sense from a human point of view. Secondly, the disciples might have thought that there was no way that food would feed everyone so they might as well keep it for themselves. Another thought that might have gone through their heads could have been that they didn’t trust Jesus with what they had so they might have been reluctant to let it go.
These reasons can also reflect how we might respond to Jesus’ instructions to give what we have to people around us. God blesses us with so much that is good for our bodies, minds and spirits. Around us, people are hungry for God’s goodness for their physical, mental and spiritual health. Sometimes, those needs can overwhelm us, like being faced with a crowd of five thousand hungry men plus women and children. Our resources and what we have to offer can seem small and inadequate to meet people’s needs. So, when we hear Jesus’ instructions to give what we have to feed those around us, we can be reluctant. We can worry about whether we’ll have enough for ourselves. We can tell ourselves that what we have won’t go very far. We can struggle to trust Jesus with what we have. For lots of reasons, we can want to hang on to what we have and not give to others like Jesus said.
It would be easy for us to focus solely on Jesus’ instructions to give what we have to the people around us. It’s important that we hear Jesus’ words: that he wants us to learn his unforced rhythms of grace by sharing what we have with people around us to feed them in their bodies, minds and souls. What is more important however is what Jesus did with the five loaves and two fish after his disciples brought them to him. He blessed the food and gave it back to his disciples to distribute among the people. That was when the miraculous happened! All those people were fed and plenty was left over because the disciples trusted Jesus, gave what they had, and he blessed them more than they could have imagined.
What do you think might happen if we did the same? Sometimes churches can talk a lot about what they want to get, such as getting people through the doors, getting people to help, or getting more time, effort or money from people. What might our church be like if we listened to Jesus’ instructions to his disciples in this story and learned the unforced rhythms of grace from him? This would shift our focus from what we want to get to what we can give. What we have might be like the five loaves and two fish. It might seem plain and ordinary, small and simple, insufficient and inadequate to meet the needs of the people around us. That’s when Jesus asks us to trust him by believing that he will always provide us with what we need, he will bless what we offer so it will bless more people than we can imagine, and there will be plenty left over for us, the people around us, and for the future.
This story brings together a few things we’ve been talking about in our church recently. Last year when we looked at the Future-Focused Church book we heard that one of the three key checkpoints of a church preparing for the future is tangibly loving our neighbours in practical ways. Earlier this year we heard God’s voice at Jesus’ Transfiguration tell the disciples to listen to his Son (Matthew 17:1-9). More recently we talked about learning the unforced rhythms of God’s grace from Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30). The disciples learned about listening to Jesus’ words, the rhythms of God’s grace for them and for others, and practically loving the people around them in tangible ways as they trusted Jesus, followed his instructions, and gave what they had to the people around them. With Jesus’ blessing, a small offering fed a huge number of people with a lot left over. What might Jesus do if we did the same by listening to his instructions to become a more giving church, trusting that he will bless what we offer, and he will bless those around us more that we can imagine through what we give?
Most of us can probably remember the days of shared church meals with an abundance of people and food to share. Instead of remembering those days and wishing our churches were more like they used to be, we can remember them as promises from God that when we are willing to share what we have with others, there will always be more than plenty for everyone. This is the same promise Jesus gives us in the story of the feeding of the five thousand. Like five loaves and two fish, even though what we have might seem ordinary, small and insufficient, with Jesus’ blessing our gifts to him can reach further and bless more people than we can imagine. As we move into the future, Jesus calls us to trust him, prioritise what we give over what we get, and feed the people around us with his goodness. As we faithfully follow his instructions, maybe he will do even more than we can imagine…
More to think about or discuss:
- Have you ever been involved in a shared church meal? What did you enjoy most about it? Did you ever run out of food or was there more than enough for everyone?
- What would you have done if you were one of Jesus’ disciples in the story when he said to give the crowd the five loaves and two fish? Why do you think you would do that?
- What are the people around you hungry for in body, mind or spirit? What has God given you that you might be able to give to others?
Pastor Eugene Online 
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