By Mother Rebecca
Just yesterday morning, I joined the children of Parish Episcopal School’s lower campus for their weekly Eucharist service in Roper Hall. Worshipping with this joyful community of students is always a highlight of my week, and this week was no exception.
We read the story of the feeding of the 4,000 from Mark’s Gospel. The story is familiar for most Christians, yet worthy of reflection this week. Jesus has been moving from place to place, teaching everyone with ears to hear about his Father and the Kingdom. Mark tells us:
In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd. They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed. They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Now there were about four thousand people (Mark 8:1-9).
As the children in chapel heard about people who listened to Jesus teach for three (whole!) days without any food, their eyes widened. When they heard Jesus worrying with the disciples that people might faint from hunger on the way home – especially those who’d traveled a great distance to see him – their heads nodded with empathy. When I paused in the middle of the reading to ask if seven loaves of bread and a few fish was enough to feed 4,000 people, the room erupted with a unanimous, “NO!” Silence settled as I continued sharing the story, now using my hands to mirror Jesus’ actions.
- He took the loaves,
- gave thanks,
- broke them, and
- gave them to the crowd.
“After Jesus did this,” I shared with the students, “the people ate … and they ate … and they ate … and they ate … until they could eat no more. Only then did the disciples collect the leftovers, seven baskets full.”
After the reading, we wondered together about the miracle. How it must have felt to be so caught up in Jesus’ teaching that they stayed three days and didn’t worry about food. How strange must it have been to watch Jesus pray over such a small meal. How much room would 4,000 people take up – could they all fit in Roper Hall? (Another “NO!”) Had any of the Parish students ever seen a meal in which someone took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and shared it? In response to that question, tentative little voices popped up around me whispering, “Eucharist?” And when I asked if anyone knew what Eucharist means, a precocious second-grade girl raised her hand and said, “Thanksgiving.”
Next week, across our nation, we will gather in large groups for a special meal. We won’t feed 4,000 in our homes, but many of us will set out extra tables and chairs to accommodate extended family, friends, and neighbors. Our tables will be piled high with far more food than seven loaves and two fishes, but like Jesus and the crowd, we will eat … and eat … and eat … and eat … and there will be plenty of leftovers to share as our guests depart for home. I hope that before we tuck in, we’ll pause for a moment to take a good look at the bounty on our tables, give thanks to God for the miracle that this fragile earth, our island home, brings forth such bounty, then break bread together as we give (or pass) each dish so all are fed.
I am especially mindful as I write to you that while all at our tables will be fed next Thursday, this is not the case for the world around. Our Outreach Committee is preparing to meet in December at the food preparation and distribution center for Feed My Starving Children, where we will assemble nutrient-rich meals to be distributed to families in areas of deepest need, some right here in the United States and others as far away as Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Ukraine. This week, I read on their website that an estimated 6,200 children die each day from causes related to undernutrition.[1] Next Wednesday, on Thanksgiving eve, a team from Transfiguration will follow Jesus’ call to feed those who are hungry as we serve together at Austin Street Shelter. So let us remember as we give thanks next week, that we – the Body of Christ – are called to give food, to share abundance, to bless as we have been blessed.
To do so, we will need the nourishment that Jesus offers us as we gather in worship. So, friends, I will see you Sunday and together, we will be fed with the spiritual food of Christ’s body and blood as we Eucharist – as we give thanks.
With a grateful heart, I’ll see you this weekend!
Rebecca+