Last week we looked at the most important concept for this entire series, and actually, the most important factor in our faith and life: love. Love is the means and the end. If we miss this one, we’ve essentially missed the whole thing.
This week, we want to think about what it means to show love, as a group, to the community around us. Chech out Mark 6:34-44.
Jesus had been teaching to 5,000 men (plus women and children), and it was nearing dinnertime. Jesus’ disciples encouraged him to send them to nearby villages and towns to get some food. Jesus had a different idea. He told the disciples to feed them themselves.
The disciples immediately reacted negatively: there are too many – we don’t have enough money – we can’t.
Jesus thought otherwise, and kept pressing.
“How much food do we have?” he asked.
“Five small loaves of bread, and two dried and salted fish,” they replied.
Jesus had the people sit in groups. He then took the bread and fish, thanked God for it, broke it in preparation for serving, and then gave it to those who were gathered in groups of 50 and 100.
At the end of the day, everybody was well fed, and twelve basketfuls of leftovers were gathered.
Sometimes when we see big need around us, we simply tell ourselves (and God) that we don’t have enough to do anything about it. We need to pay attention to this story. Because we are Jesus’ disciples, and Jesus has made it clear in his teaching and life that we are to address the needs we see around us.
Recognize the need. Do we know the need around us? The disciples were fully aware of the most pressing need in their context – are we aware? What do you see in our community that needs to be addressed?
Take inventory. Do we know what we have? The disciples knew what they had – not much – but they at least knew what they were working with. What resources do we have on us to meet the needs around us? What skills do you have? What kind of time and energy and other resources could you devote to meeting a need?
Get organized. Have we put any thought into minimizing the chaos through organization? Jesus avoided a hungry mob-scene by having them sit in manageable-sized groups. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you tackle a big problem? One step at a time.
Measure the need. Sometimes we rush ahead to do good things without first finding out what exactly is needed to address a problem. Our eagerness to do good sometimes causes us to inadvertently waste time, energy, and resources because we later discover that what we offer is already being done somewhere else by someone else. All of this is to suggest that as you consider a need in our community, some attention must be given to research, so that you do what’s really needed, not just what you think you want to do.
Prepare your heart. Jesus broke the bread. To be used, it had to be broken. Sometimes we are willing to give our lives to Christ, but not when he actually “breaks” us for use. But without our willingness to be broken, God cannot use us, and we cannot be used. Whose are you?
Be available. Have we given what we have to meet the need? The disciples entrusted their food to Jesus – their sustenance. Have you entrusted what you have to God. Jesus gave thanks to God for what they had. Are you aware that everything you have is God’s? When we “bless the food” we’re actually blessing God, not the food. We are saying thanks for the fact that we have food, and we are saying thanks to the God who ultimately made it possible. How is your perspective similar or different? Jesus gave it away. Will we allow ourselves to be broken and given by God to love the community around us?
The miracle that ensued has been debated by scholars. Some believe that the miracle was that God multiplied the loaves and fishes supernaturally – every time they took out some bread, more kept showing up – a manna from heaven kind of thing. Similar miracles took place before Jesus, and have taken place since. Sometimes, God does some pretty crazy stuff, and he still does. But we’ll never be in on it unless we’re willing to be used by God to love the community around us.
Some believe that the miracle was supernatural in another sense. In this view, it is believed that people had food all along, but weren’t willing to share it with everyone else. When they saw the disciples and Jesus’ willingness to give everything they had away, it moved them to give as well – miraculous. This kind of thing still happens today, too, when one group’s sacrifice inspires more people to do the same – eventually needs get met. But we won’t see that kind of Kingdom in-breaking unless we, as Jesus followers, take the first step and love our community as a community.
One day during rush hour in a busy subway station in Washington, D.C., a man began playing a violin for about 45 minutes. He had his case open if anybody wanted to make a donation.
Out of the thousands of people who rushed by him, only a few stopped to listen, and those only for a moment. Some children wanted to stay and listen, but their parents just didn’t have time. A woman tossed a dollar in as she raced to her train. At the end of 45 minutes, the man packed up his violin, and put the 35 dollars he earned in his pocket.
The next evening, that same man played in Boston. He played some of the same songs he masterfully performed the night before. But this time, instead of a subway station, he played to a sold out crowd to an audience that paid an average of $100 per ticket. This man who played was Joshua Bell.
The Washington Post solicited Joshua Bell to conduct an experiment about our capacity to recognize beauty. Apparently, most of the people in that subway station failed to recognize the beauty in their midst, because they were too busy to notice.
The needs around us are beautiful opportunities. Beautiful children of God may be in desperate need right under our noses – are we present enough to see it?The chance to get in on a beautiful miracle of God is waiting for you to stop, to listen, to see, and to experience. Will you slow down long enough to embrace the beauty in your midst?
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