Today is the feast day of Mary and Martha of Bethany, who were among Jesus’ closest friends. It is a sweet irony to celebrate these sisters, one a paragon of spiritual devotion, the other a champion of the dinner party, the same day that we see Jesus and his disciples challenged with feeding a crowd numbering in the thousands.
Of course, it didn’t actually occur to the disciples to feed them. Why would it? But they were aware that the people had been there all day, and that crowds and hunger can be a risky combination. They sensibly suggested Jesus suspend the healing and teaching, and send people off to eat:
“When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’”
In other gospel versions of this story – and it is one of the few that appear in all four gospels – Jesus tells the disciples to assess their resources before concluding that they don’t have enough. In Matthew’s account, they must already have done that, for they are quick with the answer, and give it in the negative: “We have nothing here but…” Nothing but. The “but” belies the “nothing,” but obviously they consider the assets so inadequate to the need as to count for nought.
What is your “default setting” – that there is not enough, or that plenty is possible? Are there areas in your life where you are so sure you don’t have enough, that you don’t even consider the possibility of God providing? I’m pretty trusting about finances, not so much when it comes to relationships.
Where have you known scarcity? Where have you known abundance? If we assume scarcity, that’s very often what we experience. And when we assume plenty, even if we can’t imagine from where it might come, we more often find that.
Today in prayer let’s bring before God those places in our life where we experience “not-enough-ness” and those where we experience plenty. These might include relationships we’re in, work we do, gifts we want or have, use or don’t use. Maybe envision a bunch of baskets, some empty, some full. Put labels on them in your imagination. Give thanks for the full ones. Invite God to transform your relationship to the empty ones – maybe they got empty at one point in your life, and you’re afraid to imagine them filled. Or maybe all your baskets are full. What does the Spirit say about these things/feelings/people?
What if instead of “we have nothing but...,” the disciples had said, “Well, we have five loaves and two fish…” It still might not seem like enough, but putting it that way gives room for hope. “Nothing but...” closes the conversation.
Unless, of course, you’re talking to Jesus, who said, “With God all things are possible.”
And then demonstrated the truth of that crazy statement in the most amazing way.
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