| Luke 9:10-17 | February 17 |
Reading this story Ivy asked, “Were the fish cooked?… Did they still have eyes?”
I have never considered Jesus serving sushi. I suppose I always pictured fresh baked bread and glazed salmon over a bed of rice. Everyone with plates and silverware… but this seems unlikely. I suppose Jesus could miracle lift salmon from native waters in the north pacific. He could have fish freshly prepared, the disciples becoming bow tied table waiters… but there weren’t any tables.
And life – even miraculous life – isn’t so clean.
So the fish probably did not arrive prepared. For that mater the fish may have arrived with “eyes” – one of Ivy’s great fears. Not only that, the fish could have still been flopping… Which is a great image of 5000+ people jumping and diving for 5000+ flopping fish.
Which is also a good picture of our own lives. We are surrounded by people, but often just racing to catch what is ours. Someone’s hungry? Someone needs a friend? Like the disciples, “Send them away so they can go to…” Anywhere else.
But in the chaos, Jesus makes room at his table. I think he is asking us to do the same. To pause and see who needs to be invited over for dinner. For friendship. For encouragement. This invitation is the real miracle of God’s love in action.
Fellowship Challenge
Take the example of Jesus to Feed the Crowd. In our lives it won’t be 5000 – at least that size crowd has not gathered around me. But around each of us, someone has gathered. This person or family is looking for something… maybe they are hungry or lonely or depressed. Jesus has told us, His disciples, what to do…
“You give them something to eat.”