Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus uses what he has. The disciples see it as too little, they don't trust that what they have will be enough. Jesus doesn't see the lack, he sees opportunity, the assets they possess to provide for the crowd. When we look at the mission and ministry of the church we don't generally think of what we have, we look at what is the need. It works so much better when we look at what we have instead. What is our asset when used will give in abundance.
This week I've been in a group at a Culture Conference in the Diocese of Texas. We have been learning about improv. It's been fun, it's also opened up our eyes to what is abundant with us. Maybe its the spontaneity, maybe its the play of having fun and laughing, but whatever it is it has opened us up to this gospel.
One of the exercises we did together was something called yes &. In yes & someone starts a story and then another person responds "yes, we'll do this and we will" this is expanding the story, because then you add another person and it goes somewhere unexpected. This happens when using this when creating things. One of our games was to play ad exec and come up with an ad for Cultivate for next year. The team has different parts of the ad they are in charge of, but the ad exec affirms every idea. No idea is bad they are all good and they can be brainstormed and modified when this happens. Being affirmed helps us so much.
It's not an accident Jesus takes what little they have and holds it up and blesses it. It affirms that even just a little goes a long ways if it is taken as the blessing it is. Often we look at a resources and say we are too little, we don't have enough. Enough people, enough space, enough of whatever it might be. Jesus says we are to bless this not enough-ness and then watch it multiply in the miracle of affirmation. In another gospel the disciples dare to question this not enough. "What is so little among so many?", they ask, then they are shown there is plenty with the little we have.
This seems to be the challenge of the small church. We always never seem to have enough. Is it we lack faith, imagination, or the will, no, we lack taking our little in measure and saying it is a blessing. Bless it. We don't have enough people, yes and look at what we do with this little. We are amazing. We don't have enough funds, yes and look at how we still reach beyond ourselves to bless others through giving every month to the salvation army and the bulldog food pantry. We don't have enough room to think big, yes and we still open our doors to the public when we have a chance and encourage learning, meals, and our football team. Just a few of the ways in which we have never imagined ourselves as small and have blessed this place and others. Now we just need to take it one step further.
This one step further will breath new life into us because this is the God we believe in. The one who blesses and chooses those who are small over those who are big. All we have to do is wake up to the blessing and bless it. Yes, and we have so much more than we ever imagined. Yes, and we can do more, Yes, and we have found life, blessing, and the way forward. Believe it, have faith, yes, and bless it.
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