Always A Solution

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creativity, Jesus, loaves and fishes, openness, possibility, problem solving, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The gospels are replete with stories that teach a lesson. Sometimes I just have to smile at what looks like a “throw-away sentence” but is really a clue to the way Jesus functioned and a lesson that he was offering to his followers. Today, for example, we have one of the “feeding of the 5,000” stories—the one that Jesus uses to challenge the creativity of his followers by asking a question. “Where shall we buy bread for all these people?” he asked Philip. We get a clue to his purpose as the gospel then says, “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” (I would have hated to be in Philip’s shoes as creativity is not my best gift…and I’m not fond of being tested like that.) Philip couldn’t get his mind around a possible answer to the question so it was a good thing that there were others more creative in the band. Andrew’s answer of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish from a boy in the crowd was clearly not a solution but it got the miracle going.

Sometimes we don’t have to have the solution to a problem all by ourselves; it’s good to have companions who can add to the solution. I have always been amazed at what can happen if a group comes together with a willingness to help and an openness to possibilities—even if some of the suggestions seem impossible, because sometimes that’s all that’s needed to get the creative juices of the group flowing. Jesus knew that and he trusted the group he had gathered. It’s up to us to do the same, letting go of wanting to be in charge but willing to add what we can to a solution. We may not be able to feed 5,000 people in the end but if the love generated in the group takes over, it can be a beautiful thing to see what God can create in us.

Joining the Dance

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helping people, John, let go, let God lead, loaves and fishes, love, Matthew, miracle, opportunities, problem solving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I’ve said, there are very simple and direct statements in the letters of John, as today he says: Beloved, love one another because love is of God. (1Jn 4:7). A few verses later, it goes on to say more about this love. In this is love: not that we have loved God but that God loved us and sent his Son…

The gospel for today is a familiar one, Matthew’s recounting of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. It seems to me a perfect illustration of the first reading since when the disciples recognize the late hour they go to Jesus with their concern and the need of the people to eat. When he says “Give them something to eat yourselves,” they protest, seeing the impossibility of finding enough food for everyone. So Jesus takes the situation in hand, asking about the possible (“How much food do we have to work with?”) and providing from a ridiculously small amount enough for everyone. What I recognize today is the beautiful interplay between God’s love in the person of Jesus whose ability to solve the situation is never in question and the disciples who, although they recognize the difficulty, are at a loss to solve it but (in spite of themselves) continue to be participants in the solution to the end when Jesus gives them the food to distribute and then the charge to gather up what’s left. All he does (it appears) is bless the food, ask questions and give directives.

How might we stay awake today for the opportunities of such a dance with God in helping the people who come our way? It seems the way to proceed is to let God lead and let go of the necessity of knowing all the steps when we enter the dance.