Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:11 (NIV)
Bread and Fish – The Table Series – Part 4
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7
Jesus was having a bizarre day, and at the end of it, he had a hungry crowd of five thousand-plus people, and there was no food for miles. But a small boy had some fish and bread, and despite his own need, offered them to Jesus and the Disciples. I wonder what he thought Jesus would do with them?
What would have it looked like when a couple a fish and some bread became enough to feed a crowd of five thousand plus? Can you picture it?
I saw Cold Play at the Enmore in Sydney a few years ago with 1600 other people, and I can’t imagine what a crowd that big would do with a miracle like that. Let alone five thousand…
All of the guys – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – say that after the boy gave his food and Jesus prayed, there was enough for everyone.
Everyone ate. The ground became their table.
The crowd would have consisted of people from all cross sections of society: the sick, the well, the poor, the rich, the lonely, leaders and outsiders, seekers and drifters, Rabbi’s and carpenters… they were all there.
People who generally would not have sat down to eat together, who would not have normally included the person sitting next to them, or who would have never been invited to certain people's homes, were all sitting knee to knee, dropping bits of their meal onto one another, eating food provided by a nondescript child and a subversive Rabbi. Who, apparently, had the power to transform a few bread and fish into crazy amounts of bread and fish.
Now if that doesn’t trump every awkward family dinner you’ve ever been to, I don’t know what does.
Understand that this was an incredible, somewhat miraculous event. Society was so regulated, segregated, organized into class and kind, that to see people who were on the edge of sworn enemies eating together, was unheard of. Jesus created an unprecedented space for people to share a meal. It was a precursor to the Last Supper he would share with his disciples: the Eucharist meal that would become a symbol of hope for all.
When explaining who he was, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” John 6:35.
He could have said ANYTHING. But he called himself bread. Food.
And the only pre-requisite to sit at the table – at his table – and eat is hunger. That was the only prerequisite for the crowd to join in the feast that day in the middle of nowhere. No classes, no social order, no one more worthy than the other. All welcome.
On her blog last year, Rachel Held-Evans wrote,
“On a given Sunday I might spot six or seven people who have wronged or hurt me, people whose politics, theology, or personalities drive me crazy. The Church is positively crawling with people who don’t deserve to be here… beginning with me. But the Table can transform even our enemies into companions. The Table reminds us that, as brothers and sisters adopted into God’s family and invited to God’s banquet, we’re stuck with each other; we’re family. We might as well make peace. The Table teaches us that, ultimately, faith isn’t about being right or good or in agreement. Faith is about feeding and being fed.”
Go to Part 5 – The Mess and the Meal »
[vcex_image_grid columns=”3″ pagination=”false” thumbnail_link=”custom_link” link_title_tag=”true” custom_links_target=”_blank” overlay_style=”title-category-visible” columns_gap=”5″ img_hover_style=”fade-out” image_ids=”20934,20935,20937″ custom_links=”https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1239768002?pt=118656308&ct=blog%20footer&mt=8,https://www.pktfuel.com/dailyemail,https://www.pktfuel.com/support” img_height=”350″]