They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. Matthew 14:20 (NIV)

Leftovers – The Meal Series – Part 5

Go to  PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6  |  PART 7

Jesus fed five thousand people with two pieces of fish and five loaves of bread. It had been a difficult few days for him: loss, grief, exhaustion… but still, when the people were hungry for truth, he poured himself out for them. And then when their bellies grew hungry, he filled them, too.

Matthew 14:20 says, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

I’ve heard things said like, “There were twelve basketfuls of leftovers; overflowing; God doesn’t just provide what we need, but more than enough; above and beyond; trust in God and he’ll do the same for you.”

But there’s been a disparity between what’s been preached about this part of the story and what I’ve experienced. When God has ‘provided for me,' there hasn’t been any leftovers. There’s always been just enough. (And dare I say, it often feels like not quite enough). When there’s been miracle money turn up, it's been just what I needed. When a friend has called me on a bad day, it's been just what I needed. When I’ve fallen short on a project or in a relationship, the grace I’ve received has been just what I needed.

Not stingy, just beautifully what I needed.

I’ve heard some suggest that the twelve baskets of leftover food could have been given to the poor. But that doesn't sit well with me. I long for the day when the poor get given our “firsts” not our “seconds”. Every time we see Jesus extend compassion to the poor, it's never been a case of “leftovers.” When I've been poor in spirit, he’s never given me his seconds.

I think the story is trying to tell us something else.

After everyone had eaten and where satisfied, they cleaned up.

Next week, I have thirty of my closest friends coming over for a Eucharist meal. We’re going to break bread, drink wine and share communion. At the end of the evening, surely enough, there will be mess to clean up. And after some meals, there is more than one kind of mess.

I remember a meal we shared with some of our extended family over twelve years ago where two of our family members got into a heated argument over the war in Iraq. It got to the point where we had to ask them to leave. They got up from the table, walked out our front door and continued to fight on our front lawn for over an hour. The mess we had to clean after that meal was more than pots and pans and leftovers.

Cleaning up is a worthy endeavour. Sometimes the meals we share, the life we share, is light and fun and even the clean up is joyful. Other times, the meals are heavy and challenging, sometimes painful and raw, and yet the clean up still must take place so that rottenness and decomposition don't settle into our homes and lives.

I think Matthew (and Mark and Luke and John) all mention the leftovers because they saw Jesus model the value of finishing what he started; of cleaning up, of taking the time to address the mess and attend to it tenderly, carefully and thoroughly. The twelve baskets of broken up pieces of bread and slimy half eaten fish tell us that life happened in that place, and a clean up ensued. The life that transpired was valued not just in the moment of the meal but was also honoured in the process of attending to the mess that everyday life always leaves behind.

God is not wasteful. He’s not extravagant to the point of useless excess. He gives us what we need. In the life that ensues from him, we cannot avoid mess. It’s a sign of life itself. After the meal is done, and life has been shared, attend to the leftovers. Make peace; forgive or ask for forgiveness; think things over; remember the love and bind it to your heart; mull over the conflict and let it question your integrity and vulnerability; collect the wisdom that has dropped to the floor in the form of crumbs and scraps in the baskets that you keep in your heart; clean up. It’s just as much a part of the meal as the feast itself.

Your turn. Leave us a comment below.

Go to Part 6 – The Crowd »

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