Leftover Grace

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. (John 6:12, 13 NIV)

Most of us have heard this story a lot.  Just like yesterday at Holy Cross, those at the back of the line headed for the pot luck table often reference this story for reassurance as they watch the heaping plates come away from the table.  We want to be sure there will be enough just like there was enough for the thousands of mouths that Jesus fed that day.

But wait... there wasn't just "enough."  There was MORE than enough.  There were 12 baskets full of leftovers.  Did you ever wonder what they did with the leftovers?  The story assures us that everyone had eaten their fill, so no one needed seconds.  They were a far ways from town and fish doesn't really travel well in desert heat.  So I doubt they took it back to their town's equivelent of a community "food pantry."  

It kind of makes me uncomfortable to think about, but I think the extra went to waste... simply to show God's extravagant grace.  It makes me uncomfortable because as God's people we are supposed to look after the poor and all those in need.  Here was all this extra food with no one around to receive it... and it came directly from the hand of God.  Shouldn't someone benefit from it?

But I guess just the fact that it was so much more than enough benefitted every person who has heard that story from that day until this.  Sometimes sharing what God has done for us in our own lives is every bit as important as sharing our abundance; because we can feed a hungry person, but they will be hungry again, but when we share what God has done in our own life, we are sharing hope... the hope that God will do the same thing for them... the hope that they can receive abundance too.

I'm not talking about the so-called "prosperity gospel" espoused by false televangelists that insist God wants us all to be rich.  I'm simply talking about abundant grace.  Abundant grace usually isn't in the form of money, but takes the form of what we need most at the time.  Sometimes it is courage or strength.  Sometimes it is community.  Sometimes it actually is material things like food or money or a place to sleep.  But when God pours that grace over us and it keeps coming and coming and coming sometimes the only way to share it is to talk about it and give that same hope to others.

Grace can't be hoarded.  Maybe we can't share the actual thing we have received, but grace is made to  affect all those around, whether directly or indirectly.  Once we have been touched by such abundance, we can't keep it to ourselves.

Father,

Help us to know how to handle all the "extras" in our lives.  When it is stuff that cannot be physically shared, help us to share the hope.  Amen.

Joys:  A nice weekend with little to do; church pot-luck dinners; Singing Christmas carols in the middlee of summer