REMEMBERING THE POOR

Young Adult Scripture Reflection

DAY FOUR: REMEMBERING THE POOR

(Lauren Scharmer)

Scripture:

John 6:1-14

After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias]. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves* and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass* in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets* with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet,* the one who is to come into the world.” 

Reflection

Two years ago, I had the privilege of a lifetime of visiting the Holy Land. And of all the glorious things we encountered, one of the places that impacted me the most was the spot on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. 

The apostle Philip, when asked by the Lord to give the 5000 something to eat said, “here is a little boy who has five loaves and two fish, but what good is so little to so many” What is true of God - and what we are all being invited into now during this time of uncertainty, waiting, and stress - is that we love and serve (and perhaps more importantly are seen, known and loved by) a God who wastes nothing. A God who saw 5 loaves and 2 fish and declared that that feeble offering was enough to feed the 5000. 

I remember sitting in this very spot - knowing full well what had transpired there 2000 years ago - and just begging the Lord for a multiplication in my own life. I was bringing some pretty serious intentions for others, not to mention my own life and was left waiting and waiting and waiting for God and all I got was silence. And sitting with God in the silence demands obedience of us.  

And yet even in the silence I was reminded of a very important part of that scripture - “even the fragments”. How true is this for us . . . How often do I feel like my heart is so fragmented? How often do I feel that because I am not “fulfilled” in my vocation that I don’t have an actual basket full of loaves and fishes? How often have I felt these last several days that because I am stuck at home I have less to offer to those around me, less to offer the Lord? In short, I am well aware of what it means to have just some measly fragments. What if it is in the fragments that He is providing for us? 

The miracle of the loaves and the fishes says something really important about the heart of God and something even more glorious about loving in the waiting. God always, always does so much with so little. What looks like not enough becomes abundance. The Evil One will try to whisper the lie that our own fragments are inadequate - that they are too little in the sight of all that is happening around us. But we know the truth of who Jesus is and what He is inviting us into. 

 We are being invited into something unique during this time of quarantine: to not only bring our fragments before the Lord, but to also bring them before others. If we let Him, Jesus will be faithful to take the fragments of our hearts and relationships, our pantries and pocketbooks and transform them into abundance for us and those around us. 

Reflection Questions

1. Where in our lives are we being asked to be more generous with our resources? 

2. Who is someone that we have not spoken with in a while that we could reach out to? 

3. What is a place in our heart where we feel broken and have struggled to let Jesus into? 

Lauren Scharmer, MSW, is a social worker living in St. Louis, MO.