Pentecost – Day 5 (29 June)

We sometimes feel very overwhelmed by the poverty and suffering around us. It makes you think: What can we do that will really make a difference? This was also the case with people in the time of Jesus. They were despondent and searching. They felt as if God had forgotten them. In Jesus, however, they found someone who cares, who is kind and available, someone who talks to them about God and pays attention to their needs. This was so different from the attitudes of the disciples who did not want to get involved and wanted to send the people away.

However, Jesus’ command to them was like a hit between the eyes: Give them something to eat. Trusting God is a huge challenge that feels almost impossible. It makes us feel uncomfortable and asks for our blind obedience. The most important moment in this passage is when Jesus looks up to heaven and asks for God’s blessing. It is with this attitude that we should approach everything in life – from the way we raise our children and practice our professions, to our ministry in God’s church.

We can learn from Jesus to look up and become more dependent on God. We must not be like a reservoir, but like a pipe through which God’s grace and love reaches others. Our job is not to multiply the bread or guard it – it is to hand it out to people. When people understand this, God works miracles. The twelve disciples, who at first noticed only the small amount food, picked up twelve baskets full of bread, one basket for each!

People who have learned to trust God will always have more than enough. They may not have material things, but they will taste the satisfaction and joy of meaning something to someone else. Life is not about what we have, but about being able to give something to someone – to hand out first and then to collect.