Jun. 18, 2022

Loaves and Fishes

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus is teaching, and thousands of people show up to hear Him. The disciples begin to panic, realizing that these people have been there all day and will be hungry and they have no way to feed them all. When they turn to Jesus and tell Him of the problem, He tells them to gather up what they have. Reluctantly, they show Him 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. He takes the baskets, blesses them, breaks the bread, and sends them out into the crowds. Spoiler alert here if you haven’t read the story, not only is everyone fed, but they gather up 12 baskets of leftovers!

There is a soup kitchen near me that I have volunteered at a number of times. On more than one occasion, we have planned for a certain number of guests based on recent attendance and then had many more show up. We always kept serving, holding our breath, praying that we would not run out and have to turn away someone who was hungry. We never did. On one night, we had planned for about 50 guests, and we had 85 show up! You could feel the energy change in the kitchen as the line of people kept growing and the panic started to creep in. What if we run out? But we didn’t. In fact, there was even enough left over for the kitchen help to partake when everyone was fed and the doors closed. At one point while we were serving, someone started giggling. It was that nervous laugh when you realize you have no control over what is happening, and you just have to hope for the best. The nervous laughter spread among us, shaking our heads. I looked up from the tray in front of me and around the kitchen and shouted, “Loaves and fishes, people! Loaves and fishes!” We all laughed, and exhaled, realizing we were in the midst of a small miracle. God was providing for His people. I have often thought it must have been a very small part of what the disciples felt that day on the mountain with the crowds.

I recently heard someone talking about that same Bible story but they pointed out a detail that I had overlooked. Before Jesus performs the miracle, He breaks the bread. The bread needed to be broken before the miracle could occur. When you look at all the miracles He performed in the Gospels, there is always a brokenness that precedes the gift. At the wedding at Cana, the wine was gone. It wasn’t getting low, it was gone when Jesus turned the water into the best wine of the night. The gospels tell us of two occasions of the loaves and fishes miracle. Lazarus was dead when Jesus called him out from the grave. You can’t get much more broken than dead! He could have saved him sooner. He could have healed his illness while Lazarus was still alive, but He didn’t. And, finally, at the last supper, He takes the bread again and says, “This is my body, broken for you.” The next day, His body was broken for all of us. It had to be for the miracle of resurrection to occur. In the brokenness is where God does his best work.

I think we have all felt broken at times. I think some people have resolved themselves to just always feeling broken. But broken isn’t bad. There is joy in the brokenness. When we feel burdened, beaten down and overwhelmed, when we feel that nervous panic start to set in, we need to remember the loaves and fishes. It is only in the brokenness that a miracle can occur. So, the next time you feel like you’re going to break, remember that in the brokenness is where the miracle happens. Joy does still come in the morning. Be brave. Be kind.