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What’s in your Basket? 12FEB

Perfect provisions or an abundance of bread? How about faith? How’s your basket of faith? Can you share some?

Jesus broke just a few loaves of bread and kept feeding thousands of curious people – at least two big crowd events were mentioned in Matthew 14 and Matthew 15 – Jesus fed them bread, fed them sustenance for their faith… Jesus taught in parables which surely fed the deep conversations on the long walk home. Even the leftover crumbs of bread were placed into use. Both tangible and faith crumbs were mentioned by the Canaanite woman begging mercy to save her daughter, stating that even accepting the crumbs of mercy (like puppies get crumbs of bread) would be a nourishment. Yes, Faith feeds…

There was a miracle feeding of thousands from a little bit of bread and the apostles were all called to work hard to feed the crowd – the provisions started small, but growth was provided by merciful Jesus, who knew the crowd would need the nourishment for their journeys. Jesus actually always wins praise for the Father, never for Himself – God provides all. Jesus as the Word tells us of God’s Love.

I am intrigued by the insight of author Michael Card (Biblical Imagination series) who points out that the leftovers were placed into 2 different sized baskets after each mass-feeding event – he points out that the baskets were described with different words in Hebrew/Greek. The first feeding gave lunch pail sized baskets as leftovers, he speculates that those carry just enough for the disciples to eat after feeding the thousands – perfect provisions and not too little or too much.

Then in the second feeding the leftovers were big man-sized baskets – so much bigger, the leftovers much more abundant.

Jesus provides reminders of God’s power and yet we forget… the disciples participated and even they forgot just as quickly!!!… In Matthew 16:9, Jesus chastises the disciples (after they said they didn’t know what to do since they had no bread) for not remembering the previous two miracle mass-feedings. Disciples sometimes even forgot the miracles they performed by themselves in God’s name… Clearly the disciples were human. We are human. We need reminders. When we share we see the connection to His abundance we are to remember that we too are blessed. God provides this knowledge in perfect provisions.

Jesus wants you to realize God’s work, to have perfect provisions and to have abundance – and especially wants you to realize you need to share it.

But did you bring any bread?

Do you even have a basket?

Do you have something to share? Will it multiply when you share it?

Do you hold on so stingy to what you already have that it rots rather than multiplies?

Do you have holes in your basket?

Do you think God needs your help to help others first? YES! Will there be enough for you? YES!  I am sure Jesus would say “have you no faith?” “Don’t you realize?”

When Jesus shows frustration with the disciples, He is urging them to realize His teachings… Likewise, is Jesus urging us to wake up too? To realize that we have been provided for – in bread? In faith? In teachings? In peace? In salvation? In All in All?  Then – when we realize that, do we realize that we are supposed to share it?!

What’s in Your Basket? (Remember God actually provides the good baskets too!)

Don’t worry about your provisions – just bring the basket anyway… Remember that a basket is a tool for bringing everything you have to the table of sharing, and realize that you are also to be planning ahead for gathering an abundance of overflowing leftovers that won’t go to waste – you will be responsible for picking that up and sharing it somewhere else.

When you realize God is feeding you faith, you won’t go hungry.

Can you use your skills to share what was gifted to you?

You can.

Are you fed from feeding?

You are.

Have you ever visited a homebound person, a nursing home, and felt even more blessed yourself from the visit? Fed the hungry and be filled with faith and warmth? Have you ever smiled and gotten smiles back?

The spirit flowing through you will feed you too…

Keep sharing your faith and your faith will abundantly grow in you. It will not go to waste. The spirit that begun a good work in you will complete it… keep weaving strength into your basket…

Jesus says just keep feeding and keep believing… share the Good News…

What’s in your basket?

Amen