Wednesday, February 24, 2021
A reed, a little bark.
What we have may not look like much,
Doch whatever we have
God will use to give all people life,
life abundant!
Leviticus 26:5
Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land.
Matthew 14:20
And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.
Words of Grace For Today
God provides a great bounty for all to live from.
All in good order from sowing, to ripening, to harvest, to eating; God provides security for all. Not merely food security, but also food security.
We muck it up terribly so that through history billions go hungry and die of starvation.
Jesus comes to teach us, to heal us, and we gather. It is late. It is meal time. We are not stupid no matter how poor we are. We all have brought a bit to eat with us. We are not stupid no matter how poor we are. We do not bring out the food hidden for safety sake, lest the greed of a few fools and truly poor (who have brought no food with them) brings them to attack us, maim or kill us, and take our little food from us. We, too, are greedy this way. We call it caution or wisdom. Jesus calls it sin.
Jesus does not chastise or demand or expose us. Instead Jesus gathers the little his disciples have, places it in a few baskets, and passes it around for all to take from it what they need. Those with plenty add to the baskets, those with nothing take a meal from the baskets. Jesus does not dictate love, Jesus only lives an example of sharing God’s bounty with all people.
The people follow Jesus’ example, assured by his presence that they need not fear.
In the end many, many baskets of the leftovers remain uneaten. We are not stupid, we have brought more than enough. Jesus is not stupid, he shows us how to share God’s blessings of food and God’s blessings of everything else, so that all have enough, and there is plenty left over.
Now, today, amid the challenges of Covid 19, take the new opportunities we have before us, to relax (which negates fear), to bring out God’s bounty, and to share God’s great bounty with all, so that all have enough to live, and to live abundantly.