10-01-17

Tim’s Tidings

The feeding of the 5000… was it a miracle of God, a miracle of sharing… or both?

In some ways, the worst of Hurricane Irma brought out the best in us.

At a recent meeting of our spiritual and administrative board, the Session, elders shared some “bright spots” they encountered recently.  Believe me there were many!  The story I shared happened as Julie and I came back from evacuating to her parents’ home and it is a story of kindness that lead to a feast.

 

 As we were coming back, her stepfather gave us a 6-gallon gas can.  It turned out we needed some of that gas to make it because of the shortages and lack of power.  Once home, I started cleaning up and cleaned my neighbor’s yard too (we live in a condo so no big deal).  The neighbor came over and said thanks.  He asked if we would like to plug our refrigerator into his generator.  That meant food!  We were very grateful and gave our neighbor the rest of our gas.  Later, the neighbor came over and said he had some steak and hamburger but no grill and asked if I could cook it.  Soon thereafter, several neighbors came together bringing their “loaves and fishes,” and we had a feast.  Grilled steak, burgers, chicken, and seafood… pasta, sides, and even cheesecake for dessert materialized.  We sat together between homes where there was a cool (for Florida in September), gentle breeze grateful and full.

 

Who could have imagined this? 

 

Likewise, who could have imagined Jesus taking 5 loaves and 2 fish and feeding the multitudes?  Somewhere I suspect, was someone who was generous and offered the Lord what he had.  Scripture hints that it was a small child.  The rest is a multiplication miracle of epic proportions—5,000 men fed, plus women and children!  I believe that God had a big part in this miracle, but I have a hunch people responded to generosity in a way that begat more generosity, just like happened in my neighborhood after Irma.

 

Today is World Communion Sunday.  It is a day that hundreds of millions of Christians will break bread and share it because God gave what God had… God’s Son Jesus Christ.  Just think of the chain reaction of “bright spots” circling the globe that is happening right now.  Bread and cup are shared, and in that sharing, Christians gain strength to let our lights shine with generosity as well.  And the miracle in this is that it is in giving, we receive!

May the Circle be Unbroken,

Pastor Tim