Good morning…
One of my favorite Bible stories can be found in Luke 9:12-17 (NIV).
Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him (Jesus) and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”
He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
When we surrender to God’s higher way, we listen to the instructions of Jesus. We organize into smaller groups. We look up to heaven. We give thanks. We break ourselves open. We share the little that we have. Beyond our understanding, we are empowered by God to give hungry people their fill. Everyone is fed and satisfied. And look at all these leftovers!
God’s ‘fishes and loaves” multiplication process reminds me of a poem I love.
******
“And the Table Will Be Wide” by Jan Richardson
And the table
will be wide.
And the welcome
will be wide.
And the arms
will open wide
to gather us in.
And our hearts
will open wide
to receive.
And we will come
as children who trust
there is enough.
And we will come
unhindered and free.
And our aching
will be met
with bread.
And our sorrow
will be met
with wine.
And we will open our hands
to the feast
without shame.
And we will turn
toward each other
without fear.
And we will give up
our appetite
for despair.
And we will taste
and know
of delight.
And we will become
bread for a hungering world.
And we will become drink
for those who thirst.
And the blessed
will become the blessing.
And everywhere will be the feast.
******
Might we trust there is enough, as we become the bread and drink for God’s wide, welcoming feast?
…Sue…
P.S. We are certainly BETTER TOGETHER!
The PAWKids Junior Board and the PAWKids Impact Leaders are walking together from Buckhead to Bankhead today to bring awareness to the proximity of the communities, the disparity between the communities and the potential for connection among the communities.
The Junior Board is an innovative and collaborative program comprised of high school students from both Bankhead and Buckhead with the mission of providing leadership and development opportunities to high school students, building inter-community relationships and dialogues and supporting the PAWKids mission through advocacy and service. Please join us in supporting PAWKids and the future leaders of Buckhead and Bankhead in this mission.
The table is wide. The welcome is wide. We would love for you to celebrate God’s feast with us today!
