You Give Them Something to Eat

You Give Them Something to Eat
Pentecost 9; Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus withdrew in a boat 
to a deserted place to grieve:
mourning the execution of a prophet
at the order of an indulgent king,
the loss of a relative, mentor, baptizer,
fearless voice from the wilderness
of a colonized country.

A crowd followed on foot from the town
so there would be no solitude.
Turning grief into compassion,
Jesus went ashore to the crowd
and healed their sick until evening.
I wonder did he struggle
with the longing to leave
to find privacy for tears.

The disciples were worn down
with fear and grief and outrage.
They wanted to feed their teacher,
let him rest and retreat in their boat.
“The hour is late, send them away;
they’ll buy food in the villages.”

Jesus said, “They need not go.
You give them something to eat.”
I heard a sermon once
during ordination training.
Several times those words were repeated:
“You give them something to eat.”
I left in helpless tears,
repeating as if accused:
“I have nothing, nothing left.”

Like Jacob alone at the ford,
having sent all he had ahead,
must we wrestle through the dark,
wounded but hanging on,
holding out for a blessing?
Or is it when we are humbled,
knowing we lack resources,
mired in loss and in tears,
is it then that a miracle happens?

There were five loaves and two fish
that Jesus blessed and broke,
making of this a sacrament,
offering people himself,
prepared to face the breaking.

Some say the loaves and fish
were given by a boy,
willing to share his own food.
Was it in the sharing
that meagre pieces multiplied,
so that all ate and were filled,
twelve baskets full left over?

Sometimes I seem to have little,
dry fragments reluctantly offered,
yet if I need to be feeding
whoever has gathered to listen,
some hunger may be assuaged,
giving meaning to blessing and breaking
and healing through hearing and sharing.
	Barbara Messner 30/07/2026