Let's travel from the Galilean hillside to the desperate situation of a refugee camp, from a place where bread is plentiful, to a place where it is scarce. From a place of hope to a place of despair, from a place of wonder, to a place where hope is almost gone; theologian William Loader describes the scene for us through poetry:
Dust on her muddy feet,
still smeared from the wet and now blue with cold,
hands stretched out in a meaningless pose of begging;
for UN relief supplies reach the camp only late in the afternoon.
Drawn faced children with bulging bellies,
listless, some sleeping, many dying.
Time.. time to live and time to die.
Time to think - if only, but too tired, too undernourished,
time but no strength to be profound, to reflect, to meditate;
makes the dying easier, the pain less revolutionary.
So don't ask me to think.
Why do you want to tell me stories about food?
Why torment me with your miracles of plenty?
Where have the bread breakers gone?
If only there were such multipliers of loaves and fish.
We'll give them the fish. We'll offer the loaves.
But these are your fantasies,
romantic images of antiquity,
best left to their glint and passed by.
They never were a model for future followers.
At most they are remnants of propaganda,
stunning feats to woo the faithful,
who crown him king.
The poem raises questions for us…..
Where have the bread breakers gone?
Are we bread breakers?
Do we have bread to offer?
Lets return to Galilee, to the hillside where the little became plenty, and all eyes were fixed on the bread breaker, the one in whose name we gather…..
Jesus.
Jesus has taken a fish supper for one and transformed it into a feast for thousands. The scriptures tell us quite simply that he received the little that was on offer and gave thanks…
What we may forget is that that day Jesus not only took the little that was offered to him, but also the little that he had to offer within himself, and brought about the miracle.
Yes Jesus was fully God, but he was also fully human, and at this time in his ministry he was desperately tired, not only that but he had just been on an emotional roller coaster….
News had reached him of the hideous beheading of John the Baptist his cousin, and probably his friend….. this was followed by news from the disciples, those he'd sent out to preach and to heal, bubbling over with excitement they had returned to their teacher with stories of miraculous answers to prayer….
Jesus response is given to us in the parallel account in Marks gospel; " come away with me, lets take a break, for they had not even had a chance to eat"
But the crowds are hungry for more, and as Jesus and the disciples set of in the boat, the crowds figure out where they are going and set off on foot hungry for more of the words that Jesus has to offer. Giving no thought to lunch or supper, their minds are on greater things….
No get away for Jesus and the twelve then….
And Jesus seeing their hunger is not annoyed but deeply moved, again he sits to teach them, and as the day is drawing to a close he beckons the now exhausted Philip and asks the question that was perhaps raised by his own rumbling stomach;
"Is there somewhere we can find something for all of these people to eat?"
Philip's incredulity is on full show…. what, you want me to provide food for this lot, that'll cost more than months of wages…. Impossible is not a word that is recorded, but you can certainly hear it crying out through the text!
Andrew has a different response; he has found a small boy with five small loaves and two fish and brought him to Jesus…..
What was going to be supper for one is about to become supper for 5,000 plus….
Jesus does not roll his eyes at the impossibility of it all, does not laugh and send the boy away…
Sending the disciples to ask the hungry crowd to be seated he takes the bread and gives thanks, breaking it…..
And once again God provides for his people….
It was almost Passover, and the stories of God providing manna in the desert will be fresh in people's minds as they prepare for the feast….
But they are about to be served another feast, an impossible feast, a feast where plenty comes from nowhere…
So what do we learn from Jesus and the disciples and how does this impact us here today….
Are we like Andrew of Philip? Do we see the impossible, or dare we raise our eyes to gaze into the eyes of the one who makes the impossible possible?
Are we like the small boy, daring to offer the little we have, or would we have found a quiet corner to devour our feast before returning home alone?
We live in a time where questions are raised about the future of the church, we look at dwindling numbers and finances and drop our heads in despair…. we become like the residents of the refugee camp, when we should be those who feed them, bringing life and hope….
We have little, but we have Jesus, who broke bread and gave thanks and brought about a miracle….
Hope has not deserted us, for Jesus still has compassion upon us just as he had compassion on the crowds that day….
And lets not forget that he was exhausted, and stretched….
But he gave thanks and broke bread, and he calls us to follow him, to do the same…
Where are the bread breakers?
We are his bread breakers….
And if we feel weak then we need to turn our eyes upon him again, Jesus the one who pours his love into our lives by the Holy Spirit…
Jesus in whom we find all we need….
So let us get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen us by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in us as we open the door and invite him in. Let us ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, we'll be able to take in the extravagant dimensions of His love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
Eyes on Christ who supplies all that we need. The impossible made possible in and through him….
Where are the bread breakers?
We are the bread breakers, for he has called us to follow him!
