The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Matthew 14:13-21

“What are we doing for dinner tonight?” the disciples ask Jesus.  What a relatable question!  Think about how many times per week you may ask that question.  We all need to eat, every day, and sometimes, maybe most of the time, we have no plan.  But if you’ve ever had to feed a large crowd, 5000 men plus women and children, this would be a NIGHTMARE!  I am one of those people that if we have two adults plus kids coming over to dinner, I have enough food to feed twice that many people, at least.  For our last kids’ birthday party, we had four whole pizzas left over.  I never want to run out.  I want to be a good host!  Jesus asking the disciples to feed that crowd without any planning might seem at first really unfair.  Where are they supposed to find all of that food?  With what money?  This was not a planned event – these people just showed up when Jesus was trying to get away by himself.
But of course, this is no ordinary gathering, and Jesus is no ordinary host.  The disciples’ first reaction is totally understandable, but Jesus leads them to discover not what they lack, but what they do have, no matter how little:  “we have nothing here…but five loaves and two fish.”  Aha! So they do have something, not nothing!  How many times have we thought to ourselves, “ugh, there’s nothing in this house to eat?” as we sit with probably two weeks of food in our freezer, fridge and cupboards, or more – most of us have plenty to eat, it’s just nothing that we WANT to eat at the moment.  And to go beyond the constant food problem, because everyone needs to eat, how many times do we look at our bank account and say, “there’s nothing here BUT a few month’s savings.”  Or we look at ourselves and think, “there’s nothing here BUT me – missing all the gifts, experience and personality of what we ourselves have to offer the world.  As human beings, we often fall into the trap of scarcity thinking, looking only at what we lack; what we don’t have, what we want that we can’t attain, rather than seeing what we DO have that’s right in front of us.  OR maybe we see what we have, but doubt it’s enough, like those disciples. “We have nothing here…but five loaves and two fish.”  When most of the time, we focus on only what we lack, then we also forget to go beyond the physical hunger of what we are having for dinner to ask, “What are we doing to nourish ourselves spiritually today?”  It’s hard enough to put together creative meal plans to feed our families; sometimes the regular habits of worship, prayer and reading scripture feels like too much.
So today, as he often does, Jesus points us back to himself.  Jesus simply asks the disciples to bring what they have to him, and he does the rest.  At the end of the day, the answer to the question, “What are we having for dinner?” grows from a meagre menu of five loaves and two fish to 12 basketfuls of leftovers for everyone who is gathered and beyond.  Jesus feeds the entire crowd abundantly, with more than enough, so that no one goes hungry, regardless of what they have, regardless of their ability to pay or provide.  Rich or poor, young, old, able-bodied, disabled, you name it, there’s enough to go around at the banquet Jesus provides impromptu out there in the desert, a banquet that echoes the heavenly feast foretold in our first reading from Isaiah.  In the kingdom of God, there is more than enough to satisfy, both spiritually and physically, Jesus shows us.
So last week, Jesus taught us five different parables describing what the kingdom of heaven is like, and I asked us all to reflect on where we see God’s kingdom breaking into our daily lives.  Today, Jesus moves from words and teaching to action – “YOU give them something to eat.”  “Bring what you have to me.”  Jesus doesn’t just tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like, Jesus shows us that the kingdom of heaven is like a crowd gathered to listen to Jesus where all are fed abundantly.  Jesus helps us see what we have beyond what we don’t have; that what we have AND who we are IS enough, and then Jesus asks us to give what we have to Jesus and trust that in his hands, what we offer to Jesus will be MORE than enough.  Jesus will make sure there is more than enough to go around so that we ALL are nourished, both body and soul.
When I was in seminary, I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, including the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee.  The church was built in the 4th century A.D, but there are mosaics there dating even earlier, including this one, honoring the site where it is believed Jesus performed this miracle of multiplying the five loaves and two fish.  If you notice in the mosaic, there are two fish but only four loaves are visible in the basket.  The traditional understanding of this is that Jesus, the bread of life, is the fifth missing loaf.  As you can see, the altar is placed directly behind the mosaic so that at every celebration of Holy Communion the body of Christ becomes that fifth loaf.  In the feeding of the 5000, Jesus shows the disciples and everyone gathered that he is the living bread that came down from heaven, able to provide for all of our needs, both body and soul.  As we journey with Jesus, continue to learn from his teachings, and receive the body and blood of Christ, we become what we eat – the body of Christ ourselves, a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven, people who understand that who we are and what we have indeed are MORE than enough because Christ is enough!
In receiving Christ the bread of life at Holy Communion today, let’s practice checking ourselves when we find ourselves thinking, as it’s easy to do, “I have nothing here.  There is nothing here.”  Instead, look for the abundance of what we’ve already been given from God, even if it doesn’t look like much. Treasure the gift of life itself.  And then hear Jesus’ challenge – “You give them something to eat.”  As we entrust what we have to Christ, we can feed others, body and soul.  Nourished ourselves at the Lord’s table, we go out to nourish others to be that fifth loaf, the body of Christ, God’s gift of more than enough for the whole world.  Amen.