Mark 6:30-44
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.”
Remember when we could have people visit, and have meals together? It feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Even this past summer, it felt so strange to be able to gather, but all the while keeping our safe 6 feet.
I love to host people, to feed them and fellowship together. At the same time, we love to be the recipients of gracious hospitality. In the community we serve, we are blessed with people who, when we can do it safely, share this gift. Excellent company, conversation, and enough food to feed a small army! It makes for wonderful times and memories. As a hostess, one of my greatest concerns when entertaining is that the food will run out. So, I always make more than I know we need, but no one goes away hungry.
Today, we are visiting along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. It’s home to a Byzantine monastery that was established in the late 1930’s with the purpose of caring for the site and caring for Pilgrims and is the traditional site commemorating the Feeding of the Five Thousand. The earliest building was known to be here was from the writings of a 4th century Spanish Nun. That building was reconstructed in the 5th century and then destroyed by during the Persian invasion in 614AD. The ruins were buried under sand and dirt until 1932 when a number of the Byzantine walls and beautiful mosaics were uncovered. The current building was restored in 1981, and the floor you see here is expertly crafted new mosaics that incorporate the original 5th century remains.
What this site helps us remember (we don’t know the exact location, like at Capernaum or Magdala, or many sites in Jerusalem) is the day that so many were gathered to Jesus teach, and time got away on them. 5,000 is the number we know best – but that would have only counted the men. There will have been wives and children in the crowd too, and all of them very hungry. By this point in Jesus’ ministry, the disciples have seen just what he is capable of. Still not in full grasp of who they were serving, the disciples come and ask Jesus what they should do. The people are hungry, and they’ve no food. Mark doesn’t mention the boy (as other gospels do), but here the disciples find five loaves and 2 fish. When Jesus tells everyone to sit down, he takes these bits of food and “gave thanks and broke the loaves”. Mark goes on to tell us that everyone ate until they had been satisfied.
It’s a story we’ve heard in church many times, and it’s a story I’ve heard taught with terrible theology…but that’s another day. Today, notice that Jesus took what was presented to him, gave thanks and the people had enough. Let that be your takeaway. We don’t have to be fully equipped to feed people, to care for people, to teach people. God still performs miraculous things with just the bits that we have. When we give thanks for those bits and offer them to His use, there is enough. In the words of the Brothers at Tabgha, “…there is enough, even more than enough. Sometimes we think we have very little, when in reality we have plenty.”
Joyfully Yours 