Give Them Something

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 14:13-21

Yesterday we spent time with folks in the Diocese of Texas. We had a tour of the Cathedral and the Diocese. We also got to visit the Beacon, which began as a homeless ministry of the Cathedral. They provide scrubs to hundreds of people while volunteers do their wash and they take showers. They are fed and provided with a medical clinic along with a host of other services. Often Glynnis spoke of the dignity of the clients and how important that was to the center. They took a seed of an idea, and literally feed and clothe thousands through God's blessing.

Jesus went to a quiet place, away from the city but the people followed him. He had what they needed and they would not let him be. Compassion and love was his response to their need. And then he taught the disciples how to respond to the needs of the people. "You give them something to eat!" sent them scrambling. They found a little among the huge group, but it was enough. Actually it was more than enough. We often don't respond to the needs around us because we don't have enough, but God invites us today to see that what we have is enough with God's blessing.

Today I ask God to help me be bold and to accept that what I have is enough. May we seek God's blessing in our with our need and with our abundance. May we trust that God will provide the bounty if we will but take a step forward into the crowd. May our small amounts be great blessings today in God's name.