Bring Them to Me
One of the great gifts of the Word of God is that no matter how familiar a story can become, new and deeper meaning can always be unlocked to the believer who, like Psalm 1 says, “chews on Scripture day and night” and, therefore, becomes like “a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month.”[1]
For a moment, let’s chew on Matthew’s account of the “Feeding of the 5,000” from today’s Daily Office readings[2] and see what “fresh fruit” we can bear in this life.
I deeply connect with the disciples in this story. The logical, even generous thing to do when faced with a crowd of some 5,000+ individuals is to tell everyone to go home before it gets too late and the situation becomes desperate. Sounds reasonable enough, but when they offer this plan, Jesus tells them, “Not so fast — why don’t you give them something to eat?” The disciples’ response to Jesus is perfectly rational. Even if we were to give all we we possess — five loaves and two fish — that clearly won’t be enough to feed this large crowd.
Jesus’ final response in this familiar story is something for us to think about. He simply says, “Bring them to me.”
At that moment, I suppose the God of the Universe could have made manna rain down from Heaven onto that seaside setting or summon His disciples to hop down to the shore, cast out their nets and pull in a bounty sufficient to meet the needs of any crowd. Instead, He says, “Bring what you have to me.” To His disciples then and to us, His disciples today, this miracle of Jesus Christ points to an eternal truth.
In all those moments in which we think we lack what is required to meet a need — whether that be a personal need or a broader social need — our God uses what He has already created and what we, His Creation, already possess to provide beyond measure.
In the face of every need, especially those who feel like the scale of “5,000,” let us pray that, before we create another well-intentioned plan or find excuses for what we lack, we have enough faith in our God, Savior and Christ-like humility to heed the call when He says, “bring what you have to me” and I will provide.
