Get Behind Jesus

 

Based on Matthew 16:21-28

            What would happen if someone tried to teach you calculus in the first grade? How would you do if someone handed you a piece of writing in Tagalog and asked you to translate it into English? My hunch is that in both of these situations you and I would not get very far. It takes years of study to get to where a person can do calculus. You have to learn the language before you can translate it into another. We can’t just do these things from the start. We have to start with the basics and build up our knowledge and capacity before we can take on the challenge of working calculus problems or translating Tagalog into English.

            Being a follower of Jesus is sort of like this. You have to start at the beginning, with the basics, and move on from there. We see this development with the disciples in the gospel of Matthew. Their process began when Jesus invited them to leave behind what they were doing and to follow him. That’s a pretty big ask to start off. But these disciples are willing to do that, to leave behind their fishing nets and go wherever Jesus was going. And as they walk with Jesus over the course of two or three years they watch as he performs miracles and heals people. They listen as he teaches the crowds with parables. The disciples get time alone with Jesus where he instructs them privately. Then Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs to do what he was doing, giving them the authority to heal, cast out demons, and to proclaim the coming kingdom of God. And they are successful in their efforts. They witness the feeding of the 5,000. They watch Jesus walk on water. The evidence is overwhelming to the disciples that Jesus is the messiah, the son of the living God, which Peter proclaims when Jesus asks who they think he is. For saying that, Jesus says that the church will be built on Peter’s confession. Everything is coming together. The movement is taking shape. The disciples understand that they are going to have leadership and responsibility as Jesus the messiah establishes his reign. Step by step, these disciples have moved from basic arithmetic to calculus. They are hitting their stride. They had to be feeling good about themselves and thrilled about their fate as the ones Jesus had chosen to be his associates in the emergence of the restored kingdom.

            And then, after all of this, Jesus tells them that he will suffer, be crucified, and then rise on the third day. Not only that, the disciples will have to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. They are being asked to lose their life for his sake so that they can keep it for eternal life. Jesus is calling them to an even deeper level of commitment. He is calling them to go all the way in. Everything they had experienced up to that point was preparation to go to the next level of discipleship.

            None of us are surprised that Peter stepped forward and opened his mouth. His response is understandable. “God forbid that such should happen to you!” They thought they were getting set up to take the world by storm, with Jesus as the leader. The kingdom of heaven was set to be established, they thought. King Jesus was about to set up his throne and Peter and the disciples were preparing themselves to be a part of Jesus’ court. And now Jesus is talking about suffering and dying? I’m not sure Peter even heard that part about being raised on the third day. What Jesus said threw a kink in what Peter and the rest thought everything was supposed to go. It made no sense to Peter that the messiah, the son of God, would suffer under the hand of the religious leaders and be crucified like a common criminal. No, that’s not how this is supposed to happen. Peter had it all figured out. But he still didn’t get the whole picture. Peter and the disciples had to go to another level.

            If Jesus had told his disciples from the very beginning that he was going to suffer, be crucified and then rise again on the third day, without first letting them watch him perform miracles, listen to his teachings, be empowered by him to do ministry, they wouldn’t have followed him. The disciples first had to come to belief, they had to know with firm conviction that Jesus was the messiah, the son of the living God. Only then, when they reached that level of commitment, could Jesus then tell them the hard truth of his coming suffering and crucifixion. They needed that foundation first and had to demonstrate their commitment before learning the hard stuff.

            Discipleship ought to be more challenging and demanding the longer we follow Jesus. It’s not enough to just stick with “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” More is asked of us. It is a healthy relationship with the Lord when we find ourselves being prodded to take a stand or risk ourselves beyond what we can handle and find ourselves saying to God, “God forbid it, Lord, surely not I!”

            Maybe what I just said is too strong. I have heard stories from many people, of how God was calling them to go deeper in their discipleship, to step out in faith. Usually the call was around giving up a career to enter into ordained ministry or to become a missionary. But that nudge doesn’t have to be that extreme. Everyone’s relationship with Jesus is different. As I think back over my life, I don’t remember ever finding myself saying “God forbid it.” Instead, I have said to myself, “Am I really cut out for this? Do I have what it takes?” There have been times in my ministry where I have found myself stepping into something with butterflies in my stomach or uncertain about what I am supposed to be doing. But it has also happened more than I care to admit, when I felt a nudge to respond to someone in need or care for a particular situation and I said to myself, “I’m too busy, it’s more than I’m willing to give, I just don’t wanna’.”

            To grow and mature in our discipleship does require sacrifice. To put Jesus at the center instead of your own desires takes commitment. And it’s easy for Jesus to slip out of the center. All kinds of people want the center of our attention, don’t they? And if we are honest, we often put ourselves in the center of our life. My experience has been that who or what is controlling the center of my life is constantly shifting. Again and again we have to choose to put Jesus at the center of our life, choose to live for Jesus instead of for ourselves, or even to live for others. It’s not easy. It is something we have to consciously choose again and again.

            And I can tell from experience that some of the most meaningful experiences I have had in my life were times when I did not put myself first. When I have responded to the needs of others, when I have felt that nudge from God to give of myself for others, it has been those times that I have been blessed, that I feel like I am living life to the fullest, a life with meaning, with purpose, that makes a difference. I am convinced that we experience what life is all about when the focus of our life is on following Jesus and not ourselves, responding to the promptings of God’s spirit, offering ourselves to be used of God to bless others. We don’t have control over what God may prompt us to do. We won’t always get it right. We won’t always know what we are getting ourselves in to when we put Jesus at the center. But if we want to identify ourselves as followers of Jesus, then we have to follow. When Peter pulled Jesus aside and said what he said, he did not have divine purpose in his mind. He was focused on how he thought things were supposed to go, anticipating what his role would be. He had mapped out in his mind how things were supposed to go and he was driven to pull Jesus aside to get him back on board. The follower was trying to lead the leader. So, Jesus told Peter to get behind him. He reminded Peter that Jesus is the one who leads. We have to let Jesus take the lead, especially when we are not sure about where we are heading or what is the plan. We are in a time where we need Jesus to lead so we can follow, as we move together into the future. The promise is that by letting Jesus lead, we will live the life that God intends for us to live. Jesus will lead us into life that is abundant and everlasting. Let us commit again to get ourselves behind Jesus.

 

What Great Faith

 

Based on Matthew 15:21-28

             This is a hard passage. Why does Jesus have to be so rude? I feel like we have to deal with Jesus’ poor attitude or, I’ll just say it, bias against Canaanites, before we can dig in to what this passage is about and how to apply it to our lives.  I sense this need to defend Jesus, to try to explain away why Jesus first ignored the plea of a woman desperate for the healing of her daughter and then calls her a dog. Yes, Jesus could sometimes be pretty strong with his words. He often called Pharisees hypocrites and snakes. There is that famous example where he went into the temple courts and turned over the tables of the moneychangers, deriding the temple as a den of thieves. But there was some justification for calling Pharisees hypocrites and turning over the tables. What is the justification for Jesus to call this woman a dog? What does Jesus have against Canaanites? We have to deal with this before we can move in to the heart of what this passage is about.

            As I have thought about it and read the thoughts of others, I have come up with two justifications for why Jesus comes across as at least rude if not prejudiced. Let’s remember that Jesus is a human being like you and me. When he was walking on this earth, he got hungry and thirsty. He needed to sleep. He had feelings. So, let’s recall quickly what has been happening since his cousin was decapitated by Herod’s thugs. He wanted to get away, but the crowds followed him desperate for healing. He heals them and miraculously feeds 5,000 men, not including women and children. He sends them away and he finally gets his night alone on the mountain. Then he catches up with his disciples by walking on the water. When they get to the other side, in Gennesaret, we read how the people from all over brought to Jesus people to heal, begging to just touch the fringe of his cloak. I wonder if Jesus said to the crowd, “I’m worn out, I need a break.” “But all we have to do is touch your cloak.” “Fine.” So, Jesus kept walking silently through the crowd while they reached out and touched his cloak. Then he is confronted by Pharisees who want to argue with him. At this point, he’s had enough. He sets out for Tyre and Sidon, which is located in present day Lebanon. In other words, he is going about as far away from the Israelites as he can get. He really needs a break. Compassion fatigue is setting in. He wants to go somewhere that he can be left alone, where no one is going to come up to him asking for anything. But, sure enough, as he approaches a place where he anticipates being left alone, here comes a Canaanite woman shouting and pleading for him to heal her daughter. He just can’t get a break. So, he clams up and then demeans her. He acted that way because, frankly, Jesus was tired and not his best self.

            If that doesn’t work for you, here is another possible justification. When Matthew composed this gospel, he was writing it with his church in mind. This means that the stories of Jesus he knew were shaped in ways that addressed the situation of his church. The past few weeks, you may remember, we have looked at these stories of Jesus as ways to encourage Matthew’s church who was experiencing persecution and struggle. It is also likely that the makeup of Matthew’s church was likely Jewish Christians. But there were Gentile Christians who wanted to be a part of the church as well. And this created tension. Matthew deals with this tension by having Jesus stress that he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, he told them to only go to the lost sheep of Israel. At the end of the gospel, Jesus tells the apostles to go make disciples of all nations. But the focus, certainly when Jesus was walking on the earth, was to present the good news to Jesus’ fellow Jews. Gentiles were peripheral to the mission. Israel was the primary concern. That said, the way Jesus relates to this Canaanite woman highlights one of Matthew’s concerns for his church, to make it clear that Christianity is first and foremost a Jewish movement. Gentiles may participate but they are not on the same level and should be considered as exceptions to the rule. This is how Matthew is addressing a specific source of tension in his church. So, for us, we don’t have that same issue. Of course, now the church is pretty much Jewish free. There are some messianic Jews but for the most part Christianity is a Gentile religion. And there is a long and painful history to explain this current state of affairs that I can’t get in to now. I only bring this up as a justification to explain Jesus’ standoffishness by connecting it with the context of what Matthew’s church was having to deal with. If that is the case, then maybe we don’t need to focus too much on how Jesus responded to the Canaanite woman. It reflected a time and place that is different from our own.

            Maybe neither of these justifications are good enough to defend Jesus’ rudeness. Maybe we have to be honest and acknowledge that Jesus is being plain rude or revealing that Jesus had a negative bias against Canaanites. The Canaanites were, after all, ancient enemies of the Israelites. But who can blame them? They were the people who were living on the land that God chose to settle Israel. The Canaanites were displaced from their land to make room for God’s chosen people. The mutual animosity had a history. Perhaps Jesus couldn’t escape the impact of that history. At the same time, we believe that Jesus is without sin. So, maybe we can take comfort in knowing that being rude is not a sin.

            Anyway, let’s focus in on the issue of faith. I think faith is the big theme of Jesus’ encounter with this Canaanite woman. At the end of their back and forth, Jesus states that the woman has great faith. What was so great about it? What was it that the woman said and did that gave Jesus the impression that she had great faith?

            One way to answer that question is to contrast her faith with the not so great faith of Peter and the other disciples. Last week, we reflected on the weakness of Peter’s faith. He did not believe that was Jesus walking on the water. Instead of trusting what he heard, Peter decides to test the truth of the words by telling Jesus to command him to get out of the boat and walk on the water toward him. Peter ordered Jesus to do something that only the divine can do, which is to walk on water. Peter walking on the water had nothing to do with his faith. It had everything to do with his testing the truth of Jesus’ words. It was Peter’s weak faith that put him out there walking on the water.

            The Canaanite woman, however, had no doubt whatsoever. She was clear in her mind who Jesus was and what Jesus could do. She approached Jesus asking for mercy. She wasn’t looking for a sign. She wasn’t looking for proof that Jesus was who he said he was. She knew what Jesus was capable of. She’s begging for mercy. She calls him “Lord” and “Son of David”, which is a messianic title. She was identifying Jesus in ways that even many of his fellow Jews wouldn’t call him. She knew who she was talking to. She knelt before him, blocking his path so he couldn’t keep walking. She is in a posture of submission. She is not ordering Jesus to do something. But look at the disciples. They tell Jesus to send her away. They order Jesus around a lot don’t they? They told Jesus to send the crowds away. They tell him to send this woman away. Later they will tell Jesus to send the children away. These disciples sometimes come across as pretty arrogant, telling Jesus to send people away. Who are they to treat Jesus this way? To Jesus’ credit, he never does that. He tells the disciples to feed the crowd. He engages with the woman. He says, “Let the little children come to me.” Jesus never sends people away, even if, in this case, he is rude to this woman. At least Jesus engages in conversation and explains why he is not inclined to help her. But that resistance does not stop this woman. She doesn’t walk away dejected. She doesn’t come back at Jesus by saying, “How dare you call me a dog!” Instead, she responds by acknowledging that she has no standing to demand anything from Jesus but still pleads for mercy. The dogs get to eat the crumbs that accidentally fall from the master’s table. All she is asking for is a crumb of mercy so her daughter could be freed from the demon and live the life she is meant to live, a life freed from demon possession.

            This is the character of this woman’s faith. She does not order Jesus to do something for her. She does not approach Jesus with a sense of entitlement, that she has the right to make any claim on Jesus’ healing power. She is humble in her request and motivated by love for her daughter. She is persistent in her asking for healing. Through it all, she has no doubt that Jesus has the power to heal her daughter. She has unwavering faith in his power to heal and she asks for that healing for her daughter without any sense of entitlement and acknowledging that Jesus does not have to respond to her request. Great is her faith indeed.

            What does this mean for us? What lesson can we learn about the quality of great faith?

            The way the Canaanite woman approached Jesus with her request is an example for us in how we can exercise our faith when we present our requests to God. The woman was unwavering in her faith that Jesus could heal her daughter if he was willing. She had no doubt. Do you sometimes waver in your faith? Fred Craddock tells this story of a small rural church somewhere in Appalachia that he visited one time. Typically, in the sanctuary you will find portraits of Jesus praying at Gethsemane, or of Jesus with his arms held wide open, or maybe a painting of the river Jordan. But in this church, they had a painting of a bulldog. Fred had to ask, “what is the reason for the painting of the bulldog?” One of the elders of the church said, “Because we have the faith of a bulldog. We never let go.” They have faith that is as tenacious as a bulldog. I’ll admit my faith is not always as tenacious, especially in times of anxiety when it seems everything is closing in and nothing is going right. How tenacious is your faith?

            The Canaanite woman approached Jesus without any sense of entitlement or claim on Jesus to do what she wants him to do. And when her request was met with silence, she doubled down, falling on her knees before him and begging. And when the response was not in her favor, she responded with humility but also with a plea for mercy. She was clear that Jesus was the one with the power to heal and all she could do was make the ask and hope that Jesus would respond. And she would persist when met with silence or an unfavorable response. Humility and persistence are the examples this woman gives to us. What have you done when you have prayed for something and sensed no response at all, as if your prayers went no higher than the ceiling? I think we all have had those times where we have prayed, asking for help, for guidance, for comfort, and were met with silence. Or things don’t get better, but instead get worse. But we need to remember that God is not a concierge. There is a bigger picture. And maybe there are situations where what we are asking of God would not be for our good. Or maybe certain things have to fall in place before God can make something happen for us. The timing isn’t right. Or maybe God is trying to answer our prayer but free will or other forces are getting in the way. Maybe you’ve heard this story before. A neighborhood was being flooded out. This man crawled up to the roof of his house to escape the flood waters. A rescue team with a boat came by to get him, but the man refused. “It’s ok, I’m waiting for God to save me.” Later, as the water continues to rise, a helicopter comes by and a rescuer comes down to pick him up, but he refuses saying, “God’s going to save me.” The water continues to rise, and the man drowns. When he gets to heaven, he asks God, “Why did you not save me from drowning?” God replied, “I sent a rescue boat and a helicopter, what more did you want?” God’s will is resisted all the time. There are any number of reasons why our prayers aren’t always answered right away. And sometimes the answers we get were not what we were looking for. Great faith prompts us to keep praying, to persist in the requests we bring before God with humility. Whether God answers the prayers as we want is up to God. I like this line in this ancient prayer that was composed back in the fourth century: “Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us. So good. We offer our desires and petitions to God and trust in God’s wisdom to respond in ways that are best for us. That is great faith to pray this prayer with conviction.

            I invite you today to consider the quality of your faith. Is your faith more like the faith of Peter on the ship in the stormy sea? Or is it more like the Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus begging for mercy? Whatever is the quality of your faith today, remember this. Jesus never sent anyone away. And he will never send you away. Whether your faith is strong or wavering, Jesus is always with you and Jesus is constantly praying for you.

 

You Give Them Something to Eat

Based on Matthew 14:13-21

First delivered August 2, 2020

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr

            They were cousins, John and Jesus. We don’t know anything about what relationship they had. But we can guess that it would be like typical cousins. They must have played together when their mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, got together. Imagine the conversations John and Jesus had growing up. From the beginning they knew that their lives were intertwined in a special way, John as the greatest prophet ever, the forerunner, the one who would prepare the way of the Lord. And Jesus, the Son of God, the savior of the world. They had a relationship that no one else could have, a relationship that no one could fully grasp.

            When Jesus heard of John’s death, and how it happened, the circumstances behind it, you can imagine how that had to have hurt Jesus deeply. Like any of us, Jesus needed some time and space to grieve. As soon as he heard the news, he withdrew by boat to a deserted place so that he could be alone. He was compelled to get away from the demands of life so that he could be alone with God and process this difficult loss.

            For those of us who have gone through times of grief, we wish the world would stop. People are going on about their business, going to work, going to movies, going out to eat, and all we wish to do is stay in our grief while the world passes us by. The world doesn’t stop. And for Jesus, the demands for his attention didn’t let up. As soon as the crowds heard that Jesus had left them, they set out after him by foot. Whether they had heard why Jesus left, and it’s very likely they did know the reason, their needs compelled them to track him down. Surely they knew that Jesus needed some time to deal with his grief. But their desperation for healing overrode whatever sympathy they may have had for Jesus in his time of grief. They were hurting as well, and Jesus was the only one who could provide for them the healing they needed. So, the crowd tracked him down and met him at the shoreline as he got out of his boat.

            It would be completely understandable if Jesus had asked his disciples to run interference for him so that he could have some space. He just needed one night alone. Just a little space to breathe, to grieve, to tend to the hurt in his heart.

            But Jesus was driven by compassion. He saw that large crowd filled with desperate people. They had not walked all that way to pester him with questions. They were not interested in arguing with him. They weren’t even there to hear a good sermon or to learn something. No, they had gone all that way because someone they loved, or even themselves, were sick and needed cured. Jesus is the great physician and they needed healing. His compassionate heart compelled Jesus to override his need to be alone with God for a season. He was compelled to offer what only he could offer…a healing touch.

            The best way I can relate to Jesus’ compassion for those people is thinking about when Kim and I were raising our kids. When they were babies, it didn’t matter how tired we were. Their needs came first, whether that meant stopping what we were doing to change a diaper or rocking them to sleep at 3 in the morning, if they needed something we had to provide for them. Our boys depended on us to give them what they could not provide for themselves. We had time to tend to our needs, but their needs took priority.

            In the same way, Jesus provides for us what we cannot provide for ourselves. Living a life as a follower of Jesus is not easy. We are distracted by many things. We often forget that we represent Jesus in the world. We neglect to love God and love others as we love ourselves. We grow tired and weary. We need spiritual and emotional energy to stay on the narrow path. We need to be motivated and inspired to live our lives after the example of Jesus. That’s what Jesus does for us. Jesus provides for us that spark, that energy, that motivation, that grace to keep living a life of love that honors God. Just like what we read in the gospel of John, Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” We depend on Jesus to do what is right and loving.

            Earlier this week was the home-going service for John Lewis. Several inspiring speeches were given that captured what his life was like and the legacy that he has left for us to draw inspiration from. Jenifer Holiday sang a few songs to break up the speeches. Just before Barack Obama spoke, she sang “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” At one point in the song, Jenifer is pleading, “We need you now.” Sometimes we need Jesus to take us by the hand, to lift us up when we are weary and tired, to lift us up and lead us on the path set before us. That’s what only Jesus can do for us. With compassion that is unbowed, Jesus is there for us to lift us up and keep us going.

            As the evening drew on, the disciples began to feel some compassion of their own. They saw this large crowd of people, men, women and children, who had rushed out so quickly to meet Jesus by the lakeshore that they had brought little or nothing to eat. They saw children starting to get a little crabby, complaining about being hungry. It was probably time to wrap things up and send people away so they could go into the villages and get something to eat. Everyone can rest up and come back the next day for more healings and more teachings.

            But Jesus wanted his disciples to learn something about what Jesus can do that we can’t do for ourselves. He wanted the disciples to learn that sending people away to fend for themselves was not always the compassionate move. Yes, the need was great. We are told that there were about 5,000 men in the crowd. Let’s assume half of them were there with their wives. That gets you to 7,500. And let’s say that half of those couples brought a child with them. That gets you to 8,750. I think that’s a conservative number. There could have easily been 10,000 people in that crowd. What other options were there than to send the people away? The need was so great. But Jesus wanted the disciples to learn that with Jesus all things are possible, that in the economy of the kingdom of God there is always enough, if we trust in Jesus. They couldn’t help these people by themselves with their own resources. But with Jesus there will be enough.

            They brought all they had available, five loaves of bread and two fish to feed perhaps 10,000 people, and Jesus took it from there. He received all they had to meet the need, blessed it, gave it back to them, and they distributed it to the crowds. And it was more than enough. This is not just a miracle. It is a sign of what the kingdom of God is like, a community in which there is an abundance.

            Are we not tempted to send away those who are in need? Especially when we find ourselves with someone whose needs are great and our resources are few or not helpful, what else can we do but try to point them to agencies or other resources that can address their needs? I carry in my backpack papers that list all the different agencies in the Columbus area that address all kinds of needs. It’s called a Street Card. If someone is homeless, or has substance abuse issues, or needs clothes, or food, or healthcare, it’s on that sheet. I guess if you send someone away with that street card, that’s something. Still, that command from Jesus rings in our ears when we find ourselves confronted with someone who is in need. “You give them something to eat.” Don’t send them away to fend for themselves. Do something. Offer all you can.

            But remember that when Jesus met the needs of others, he did not do it from the place of duty. He certainly didn’t respond to feed his ego or feel better about himself. He responded to the needs of others from the place of compassion. Compassion is what stirs in us the drive to do what we can for those in need. We aren’t Jesus. We can’t meet all the needs of everyone. But compassion compels us to respond the best we know how. Compassion propels us to respond with what we have, trusting that Jesus will bless what we offer. Will it be enough? All we can do is offer what we have to those in need and trust Jesus to take it from there.

            The giving never ends. Compassionate response to those in need is a way of life. The needs of the world never end. We have our own needs, to say nothing of others. Let’s face it. To be human is to be in need. And we can’t always meet our own needs by ourselves. Sometimes we all need a little help from others. If you think about, we all have to depend on each other to meet our needs. Someone has to grow, harvest, and process the food and get it to market. Someone has to make the clothes. Someone has to build the cars and refine the oil. Meeting needs is a large part of what we do in life.

            Sometimes we need to get away from it all, to have some alone time with God where we can rest and even grieve. Jesus finally got his night alone on the mountain. After everyone was well fed and the leftovers were collected, the crowd was sent home. Then Jesus went up the mountain to grieve the violent murder of his cousin, John. The next day, Jesus came down the mountain and got back at it, fulfilling his purpose.

            It is ok for us to have some time alone with God, to take that time to be still and rest in God’s presence and even to grieve in the presence of God. We need to tend to our hearts, the pain and sorrow we carry. We need Jesus to heal us. But we can’t stay there. That voice of compassion stirs again in the face of the needs of the world. Again and again, we hear those words of Jesus, “You give them something to eat.”

            I hear that challenge in the face of so much need in our community today. In the battle to contain this virus, our economy has taken a hit such that I don’t think we yet have our minds wrapped around what the fallout can be. The prospect of virtual learning to start off the school year presents another huge set of challenges, especially for single parent households. How can a mother work at the Dollar Tree and know that her two kids will stay on task and do their school work? How can they do that if there is no wi-fi in the house? Just spending a few minutes reflecting on the great need in our community these days can stir up low grade panic. There are so many and the resources seem so puny. But where to send people away? Where can they go?

            In these challenging times when there is so much need, the compassionate voice of Jesus says to us, “You give them something to eat.” What can I give? What can you give? What can we collectively offer up to Jesus so that Jesus can do what only Jesus can do? These times require us to figuratively offer up to Jesus all we have, to bring to Jesus all the bread and fish we can find so that Jesus can bless the resources we have and then give those resources back to us so that we can then distribute them to all who are in need. This is the promise. If we act collectively, offer what we have, and trust Jesus to do what only Jesus can do, we will find that there will not only be enough, there will be an abundance. This is where we can find hope in these hard times.